Pendulum - The Butterfly Effect (First Person Rewrite)
by KimikoGlacia
Summary: We all know what happened over one hundred years ago when the Aizen began his experiments on innocent people, Soul Reapers and the Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. But what would have happened if Aizen had dragged another unsuspecting innocent soul into his plans? How would the entire plot change with one stubbornly curious girl's spur of the moment involvement?
1. Invasion

It was that awkward moment again, the one that happens at least once in every teenager's school life- well, any teenager with the attention span of a goldfish like me. That moment when you are so far away in your own little world and are so rudely brought back to reality by a teacher.

 ** _Inconsiderate fool_** , I scorned bitterly, gifting my teacher with my signature icy glare as my heart made its desperate attempt to pound out of my chest.

This was happening a lot to me lately due to recent circumstances that had been distracting me and I was getting a bit of a rebel reputation for it. Not like that bothered me or anything. I couldn't care less what people might think of me or say behind my back.

I had been sitting next to the window about halfway along the classroom, (yes that's right, the middle not the back as people generally expected of troublemakers. The back made it way too obvious that I was up to no good), with my pencil dangling from my mouth absentmindedly, my chin resting on my fist, my unblinking gaze fixed on the icy lake across the academy grounds. I was completely oblivious to the world around me. That is until a heavy book slammed down on my desk and almost made me fall off my chair in fright.

"Murasaki! Will you please pay attention!? I'm sick of having to repeat myself for your benefit!" my history teacher bellowed down at me, her face turning red from the effort.

My heart still pounding violently against my ribs, I glared up at her, then paused for a moment to glance at the dozens of eyes fixated on me. I played it safe and dramatically pretended to faint, bumping my head down on the desk, lolling my tongue out to the side and tapping my chest in an imitation of my racing heartbeat. Of course, the rest of the class found this highly amusing as usual. I often did stupid things to lighten the mood when the situation got tense, but the teacher wasn't the least bit impressed.

"And you think trying to scare the living daylights out of me is gonna help?" I retaliated after meeting her eyes.

"Maybe it will scare some sense into you!"

I sighed deeply and rolled my eyes, knowing this argument could last for the rest of the period, but really I couldn't be bothered today. "Yeah all right all right. Can you just repeat the question… please?" I added thoughtfully realizing how disrespectful I was coming across. Honestly, I wasn't a rude person but idiots brought out the worst in me. I had been enrolled at the academy for more than six months now and this woman still treated us like brainless toddlers.

The teacher raised an eyebrow at my sudden change of attitude but evidently thought better than to question it.

"What is the most powerful fire-type Zanpakuto known to the Soul Society to this day?"

"What the-" I began incredulously, expecting a challenging question. The teacher winced, as though being stabbed by the words and cursing the return of my insolence.

"Why are you asking such obvious questions... a five-year-old would know-" But I bit my tongue, deciding to just answer and get the teacher off my back. "Nevermind. The answer is Ryujin Jakka, owned by Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the founder of the Shino Academy and Head Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads." I recited as if straight from a textbook. Actually, it was from the textbook and I had read it enough times to memorize it word for word.

"Good. That wasn't difficult, was it?" The teacher asked sarcastically, walking away back to the front of the class while reading aloud from her own textbook.

I sighed again and took to doodling in the margins of my textbook for the rest of the lesson until the bell rang for lunchtime.

I caught a few sideways glances and giggles from some of my classmates and did what I always did in retaliation, use my alarmingly cold eyes to my advantage with my signature glare. I couldn't imagine why some people might find me scary or unapproachable. Nope. It baffled me, really.

Once the bell rang I was one of the first people to leave the room, practically leaping over tables in my bid for freedom. A short way down the corridor one of my 'friends'- yes I use that term loosely because he was more like an arch-nemesis rival, and due to recent circumstances I had been avoiding him- caught up with me.

A tall boy with tanned skin from years of sun exposure, a well-built frame that was benefiting from long hours in the gym, dark tribal tattoos replacing his eyebrowsbeneath a scraggy white bandana and scarlet hair pulled up into a high, spiky ponytail was jogging to catch up with me.

"Heeyy!" he called and I slowed down a bit, not turning to look at him. I knew what was coming, I could read him like a book. There was some kind of jab or insult coming my way in 3… 2…

"How the hell do you manage it? How do you always cause more trouble than everyone else, huh?" he snickered slapping a hand on my shoulder with light force.

"Shut it Renji, I don't do it intentionally you know, it just-"

"Just happens?" he finished my sentence. And here I thought only twins were supposed to finish each other's sentences?

"Maaaann that's talent at its finest right there, you should offer private tutoring on how best to disrupt classes. You'd make a fortune!" he laughed.

"Har Har, very funny," I replied rolling my eyes again as we walked, still not looking at him.

Firstly, he dwarfed me by at least two feet and I did not enjoy craning my neck to look at him, which was the source of many of our 'fights', and anyway… I just wasn't in the mood for it today. I hadn't been in the mood for anything since SHE ditched us and screwed over my future in the process. But Renji and the others preferred to act as if it had never happened, which infuriated me. That's why I was avoiding them because I loved them all too much to fight with them outside of the dojo. There was a call from behind us as some of Renji's guy friends from his dorm called for him to join them for lunch and I finally turned to look at him.

"Uh, right, be right there guys. What you gonna do for lunch?" he asked me and I shrugged.

"I guess I'll go chill under my tree until next period again, not really hungry."

Me? Not hungry? Until recently that statement would be enough for my friends to rush me to the medical wing, I was always hungry and always the first person to remind our group how long was left until lunchtime and start a debate on how much cheese to put on whatever todays meal was. But nowadays I couldn't muster an appetite. No wonder Renji gave me such a concerned look. But he didn't say anything this time. Maybe he finally knew not to bring up the sore subject that had pulled our little dream team apart.

Instead, I got a: "So you own the tree now?"

I groaned. "Shut it. Don't even go there, you know what I mean" I said dryly.

"All right, all right chill!" he turned to walk away from me and stopped to pull a thinking face for a second. It looked like hard work. "Wanna spar in Hakuda next period?"

I gave a half-hearted smile against my will and shook my head in disbelief. He would offer one of the few things I enjoyed the most when I was trying to not have connect with my ex-friends, wouldn't he? "I can't say no to that, can I? See ya next period."

He gave me one of his rare goofy grins. "Catcha later then!"

As Renji walked away Kira and Momo exited the classroom with arms full of books. Kira waved at me but Momo avoided my eyes. I waved back with a longing heartache stabbing in my chest. If only things could be the way they used to.

I soon came to rest under the shade of a large pink and purple blossom tree in the grounds of the academy,overlooking the icy lake. My favourite spot for various reasons. The main reason being that it reminded me of my home and memories of better times.

I set my bag down beside me and lay down with my arms behind my head, staring at the sky and allowing my mind to drift into another daydream.

This time, I thought not of my wildest dreams, fantasies, and the usual weird stuff my imagination regularly conjured, but of the past and my most reliable remaining memories.

* * *

 ***The pendulum ticks back to 47 years into the past, where this all began.***

It was a cool spring night in the Seireitei where Yamamoto Genryuusei sat in this office, a mountainous pile of paperwork perched on the desk in front of him, tottering treacherously from side to side as though the faintest breeze would send it toppling across the room.

Yamamoto did not like nor dislike reading through the reports of his thirteen squad captains, but when his dearest Lieutenant Sasakibe wandered into his office carrying another pile of agonizing boredom, such as this monstrosity, his heart sank.

 _ **These papers are an extremely high priority, the sooner I read them the better,**_ the old man urged himself. He leaned forward in his chair ever so slightly and slowly reached a wrinkled hand towards the top few papers. "No... sudden... movements..." he mumbled as if the vibration of his words in the air may send the pile flying.

As if karma was out to spite him, the towering wooden doors to his office came crashing open and a young man with short and messy mousey blonde hair wearing a Captain's Haori came skidding into a kneeling position in front of Yamamoto's desk, completely oblivious to the rain of paper falling from the ceiling.

Yamamoto held his face in his palm, despairing.

 _ **Why did I hire this buffoon? His stupidity never ceases to amaze me. It will take forever and a day to reassemble these papers in the correct order**_ he thought, again regretting hiring the man all those years ago due to his consistent clumsiness.

"Captain Commander-" the man began to pant, out of breath and red in the face from running. Yamamoto cut him off before he could continue.

"Were you born in a barn, Captain Urahara?" he asked sarcastically.

"N-no, Sir... I was-"

"Then learn to knock before entering and close the door behind you" He snapped. "And collect these documents off my floor this instant"

"My apologies Captain, but I've come to report that the Department for Research and Development have detected a massive amount of Spiritual Pressure approaching the World of the Living, It's like that of a hollow's but multiplied one-hundredfold!"

This caught Yamamoto's attention and he stood up, momentarily ignoring the sea of paper. "You are sure of this, Urahara?"

"One-hundred per cent Sir, the spiritual pressure readings are off the charts!"

"And the location?"

"Karakura Town, in the West of Tokyo, Japan."

Yamamoto lifted one fluffy eyebrow in surprise. A small black butterfly with pink markings appeared from thin air and floated down to rest on Yamamoto's index finger and he leaned into spoke to it.

Every Soul Reaper in the Seireitei did as instructed and stopped their current action to listen to the wizened voice emitting from the air around them, as though through a giant invisible megaphone.

"Attention all officers: An immense spiritual pressure is approaching the World of the Living. Squads Two, Five and Nine are to be dispatched to Karakura Town to assess and handle the situation. All other squads, with no exceptions, are to remain on standby and patrol the Seireitei. Any suspicious activity must be reported and dealt with immediately. I will not allow these attacks and disappearances to continue."

Once finished, the Hell Butterfly fluttered off his finger and out of the nearest window. Usually, the Head Captain would call for a conference between the thirteen Captains to discuss details and action plans, but time was of the essence here.

"Captain Urahara, go back to the Squad Twelve labs, assess the situation and keep us updated, any changes must be reported immediately."

"Sir, I would like to join Captain Yoruichi of Squad Two, they are lacking squad members due to the recent attacks, they need back up... I will have my Lieutenant and seated officers taking care of Squad Twelve's duties back at the labs, they are fully capable of the task"

Yamamoto paused to think for a moment. "...Very well. Any negligence or mistakes made will be on your head, Urahara. I'm counting on you,"

The young man blushed a violent shade of lobster, bowed and scrambled from the room.

Yamamoto strolled across his office to stare out across the Seireitei. It was halfway through the night and for miles, hundreds of tiny lights could be seen igniting, voices could be heard in the rooms and streets below.

 _ **What on earth could be happening now? As if the attacks on residents of the Rukongai weren't enough, now the World of the Living too?**_

But Yamamoto would not let his guard down. An attack in the middle of the night was surely done to throw them off guard unless this anomaly was a coincidence.

 _ **No, it can't be a coincidence, the timing is too perfect,**_ he thought. Even if this had nothing to do with the Soul Society's recent troubles he wasn't going to take any chances.

He took a deep breath and resumed his seat behind his desk, staring at the waves of paperwork as if to make them clean up and reorganize themselves.

 ***A while later***

A group had congregated at the main Senkaimon gate of the Seireitei, waiting to be dispatched to the World of the Living. Captain Urahara rushed towards the impatient, groggy looking bunch. "Sorry I'm so late, had to layout firm instructions to my squad" he explained, waving a hand apologetically.

"What is this about, Urahara?" A man with a pointed face and long straight blonde hair, also wearing a white Captain's haori cloak, asked sounding annoyed and yawning boredly. "You disturbed my beauty sleep."

"You know as much as I do, Captain Hirako. Let's head out and maybe we can answer your question," he said, gesturing towards the large gate as it opened to reveal a shining white light.

They entered the light without hesitation. The small group of ten people, four Captains and three Lieutenants and three Third Seat officers rushed through the Precipice World. The walls which usually moved and undulated like the stomach of an enormous beast stayed still as they passed, nonetheless, they remained in a closely-knit group with their guard up.

Once the light at the end of the tunnel appeared they jumped out of it, the ghostly wooden doors sliding shut behind them. They appeared to be looking down on the outskirts of a town. A wide river ran below them, with pedestrian paths and grass verges leading up to a football pitch on one side of the river. On the opposite side of the river was the edge of either a very large town or small city, with residential areas close to them and larger buildings in the distance.

The group of Soul Reapers stood and observed the scene for a moment. Another man with short white hair wearing a captain's haori spoke first, evidently annoyed. "Well, Urahara? I don't sense any strange spiritual pressures. So, were you wrong or were you pulling some stupid prank on us?"

"On the contrary, Captain Muguruma" Urahara's face was completely blank of expression as he pointed to the sky. A dark cloud was forming far above the town, like a monstrous storm. The Soul Reapers turned to the direction he was pointing and looked on in horror, their hands flying to their sword hilts at their waists instinctively.

"What is that thing?" A girl with short midnight blue hair asked her captain in fear.

The sky suddenly began to quake, a rip appeared with began to open like a mouth being unzipped. "A Garganta, Sui Feng," Yoruichi answered, stepping forward in front of her student. "The exit, or entrance, from Hueco Mundo into the World of the Living."

The lieutenants took a step back as their superiors clutched their Zanpakuto's and prepared to fight. Out of the Garganta stepped a monstrously tall black figure with a white, pointed, mask-like face, followed by what seemed like millions of small creatures.

Out of the entire group, only one person wasn't bothered by these monsters. A young man with short curly brown hair stood behind Captain Hirako, the corner of his mouth twitching into what could have been the beginnings of a smile for a split second.

"I'll take care of these guys," Captain Mugurama shouted, taking out his sword. "Blow it away, Tachikaze!" he chanted and currents of air began spiralling around him as the sword as it transformed into a small knife.

"Wait, Kensei-" Hirako took a step forward but Captain Muguruma shot off in the direction of the hollows. "What a fool, he can't take this many hollows and a Menos alone" he sighed unsheathing his own Zanpakuto and following after Kensei, "Let's go Sosuke." The brown-haired man nodded and followed Hirako.

Urahara and the other Captains and Lieutenants watched as more and more hollows escaped from the Garganta.

"We must stop this, we cannot allow these hollows to escape into the city. Yoruichi, Sui Feng, can you two help me catch those hollows that slip past us?" Urahara asked. The two nodded. "Good, then I want the rest of you to help Captain Hirako and Captain Muguruma destroy the hollows at the Garganta and close it, understood?" he said, turning to the remaining Soul Reapers who all agreed without question, regardless of the fact that no one had formally been named leader of this mission, and shot off to help.

Kensei was already up at the Garganta, slashing through the Menos with ease, Hirako helping him and catching a few of the hollows that tried to pass them too. The Menos drew back and opened its mouth, forming a sphere of red energy. "Kensei! Look out!" a girl with green hair and a pink scarf shouted. Knowing he wouldn't move in time she dived down with both her legs straight. "Mashiroooo DROPKICK!" and hit him square in the back sending him flying.

Kensei spluttered and regained his balance just as a beam of red light ripped past them, leaving a sort of sonic boom in its wake. He rubbed his back, for once he was thankful for Mashiro's amazing athletic ability. "Thanks a lot, that kick hurt but I'd rather have back pain than be dead." She giggled and backflipped out of the way of a bat-like hollow, uppercutting it in the chin with her foot.

The streams of hollows leaving the Garganta seemed endless, and the Soul Reapers were getting tired, fast. "Third seats! Do not let the hollows pass by! Do not allow them into the city! Kensei, At this rate, we'll be needing back up," Hirako said, moving back to back with Kensei to catch his breath after slicing a menos in half.

"You're right... there's too many... of them..." he panted too.

 ***Elsewhere***

In a dark alleyway in the suburbs of West Karakura, a spirit girl hid behind a row of trash cans sobbing but trying not to make any noise.

 _ **What's going on? What the hell are those things?**_ She thought frantically. She felt that unexplainable feeling that forcefully washed over her when one of those creatures were near and shrank as far into the shadow as she could, though her new pearly white body didn't help the situation in the slightest, she felt more noticeable like this.

It came down the alleyway, in the form of a monstrous Komodo Dragon lizard with a skull-like white mask. Its snake-like forked tongue rattled as it sniffed along the alleyway, trying to find its target. The spirit girl sucked in her gut and held her none existant breath, hoping foolishly that it would help her be less noticeable, but the hollow stopped dead right next to her. It gave off a putrid stench and a howling cry then turned its head to her.

She rolled sideways, not giving it another chance to try to eat her and ran as fast her legs would carry her down the alley, the little chain attached to her chest clanging from side to side. The monster scurried after her, roaring again and swiping at her.

She took a sharp left turn down another alley trying to confuse it but instead it just ploughed through a wall and around the corner as if it had been made of jelly.

She gasped in shock and carried on running, transparent tears torrenting down her face more than ever.

 _ **This is the end, I can't keep this up for much longer!**_ She turned her head to the right and saw the main road in front of the Karasu River. She didn't stop but carried on running down the road, hoping against hope that she would find someone who could help her.

Suddenly the hollow that had been chasing her launched over her head and landed in front of her as though it had fallen from the sky. She ground to a halt and spun around to run the other way, but another hollow in the form of an eagle landed in front of her that side too.

She was surrounded. It really was the end. _**I'm sorry... I never got the chance to say sorry to you... forgive me...**_ she thought. She crumpled to her knees, holding her head in her hands waiting to be devoured.

 ***Overhead***

Urahara, Yoruichi and Sui Feng were running across the rooftops, searching for stray hollows and defeating any they came into contact with. Sui Feng took the back of the group, she slashed through a hollow that had landed behind her mercilessly and spotted two more on the road below. "Captain, down there!" She yelled, making Urahara and Yoruichi stop and change direction, pointing over to the two hollows cornering a spirit. They shot down to the floor with lightning speed flash steps and came to stop before the hollows.

Urahara held his Zanpakuto above his head and forcefully stopped the clawed hand that had swooped down to the spirit girl, Sui Feng did the same with the other hollow but completely sliced off its talon. It gave a huge painful screech and the spirit girl looked up. "I'm... I'm alive!" she cheered.

"Well, not exactly-" Urahara began to chuckle.

"Kisuke!" Sui Feng scolded him, "Now is not the time for that!"

"Right you are. Yoruichi!" he called. The girl stared around at them, completely confused by what was now happening. Yoruichi appeared next to the girl startling her even more. She smiled reassuringly and held a hand out to the spirit, helping her up and moving her away from the fray.

"What are those things?" she asked as she and Yoruichi stopped at the corner of a building a few blocks away. She looked around to see the girl and man who had saved her following close behind with more of those... things.

"There's no time to explain, but let's say you'd be in trouble if we didn't find you when we did." Yoruichi smiled. Urahara dived around the corner to stand next to them as Sui Feng distracted the approaching hollows.

"Now, little girl-" he began but was cut off.

"I'm not little, I'll have you know I'm sixteen years old!"

"Yeah yeah, okay. Now kid, sorry to spring this on you, but it's dangerous here and you need to move on-" Urahara said poising the butt of his sword hilt above her forehead. The end of it glowed bright blue.

"Whoaa, don't come near me with that thing!" she squeaked leaning sideways to avoid it.

"For crying out loud Kisuke-" Sui Feng cursed, her tone harsh, getting impatient as she continued to fend off more hollows.

"I know, I know, Look I'm going to help you move on to the next life by giving you a Soul Burial, you can rest in peace"

Her eyes widened in horror "No! Please! I'm not ready to go yet! I need to say sorry-" she stopped with a gasp as a huge beam of red light ripped across the sky above them, causing an explosion in the distance.

"We don't have time for this, it's too dangerous here right now. If it was any other time I would help, but I can't. Good luck kid, you'll be needing it." And without waiting for her to answer he planted the hilt of his Zanpakuto on her forehead and watched her vaporize into tiny wisps of blue smoke and butterflies.

He sighed and sheathed his Zanpakuto once she had disappeared.

"Good grief, I'd have to strangle that kid if I knew her, so annoying." Sui Feng complained. A hollow that had been charging towards them suddenly stopped dead and turned in the opposite direction. She frowned, not understanding why it had suddenly changed course, but she still didn't sheath her Zanpakuto "That's... odd. Its almost as if something called them away..."

"I don't know Sui Feng, if I knew her I think I'd like her, I liked her attitude. That girl had guts." Yoruichi contradicted, ignoring the retreating hollows.

"Y-yes ma'am but-" she began to stutter, giving in to her master as always but Urahara interrupted.

"The hollows seem to be attracted to these spirits, so if we want to get rid of the stray hollows all we have to do is find spirits and the hollows will come to us. We've got a lot of work to do so let's get moving." The women nodded their agreement and they flash stepped away from their spot.

One by one, they found lost spirits. For a while they would walk around with the spirit, using them as bait to attract all the hollows in their current area in large groups, helping to defeat large amounts of hollows at once. Once they stopped pursuing the spirit they performed Soul Burial's on them and helped them move on to the Soul Society. The city was so vast that it took quite a while with this method, but it was effective in the long run.

Eventually, less and less hollows came out of the Garganta making it easy for Kensei's team to eradicate them before they made it to the city, leaving it to Urahara's team to get rid of the ones skulking around Karakura.

It took a huge effort to force the Garganta to close. All ten of them scoured the city for stray spirits and hollows, just to clean up after themselves and then gathered at a spot near where they had entered by the river.

"That's a job well done, I'd say," Hirako smirked wiping a scratch that was dripping with blood on his cheek. "Put your face straight Sosuke, you did well. Stop being such a grouch," he added, noticing the expression on his Lieutenant's face beside him.

"Yes, Captain," he replied simply. "Lack of sleep, Sir."

"Okay, time to go back home. I'll report to the Commander, though I'm not sure if he wants us to stay on alert or go back to bed," Urahara laughed at Sui Feng and Mashiro's tired expressions. He opened up a Senkaimon and entered, yawning as the others followed suit with the wooden doors sliding shut and vanishing behind them.


	2. A Warm Welcome

A light breeze swept over my face as I stirred, sending shivers down my spine. I opened my eyes slowly, attempting to focus on my surroundings just as a petal floated onto my cheek.

For a moment I had thought I was outdoors but as my eyes adjusted, I realized I was looking out of an open door. I scanned the room I was in. It was simple but elegant, styled to look like a traditional Japanese bedroom with pale mint-coloured walls, a tatami floor and open sliding doors that led out onto an outside hallway and into a square stone-paved yard.

The room was empty apart from the white futon I was lying in, positioned in the middle of the room with a low table in the far corner.

I propped myself up on my elbows feeling light-headed but dropped my head back down when the room began to spin.

It seemed like no one was around at the moment but getting out of bed to explore seemed like too much effort, so despite being completely confused as to where I was and why, I stayed put.

I fell into a daze as I watched the petals floating in the light breeze, thinking how this was probably a very vivid dream itself, but I soon snapped out of it as I heard slow footsteps down the outside corridor. I snapped out of my dazed state in a panic, stuck between the decisions of feigning sleep or demanding to know where I was, but before I could decide a woman wearing a magenta Kimono walked past my door carrying a tray of tea and sweets. She peered into the room absentmindedly as she passed, then did a double-take when she realized that I was awake.

"Ah, you finally came round, did you?" she asked, walking into my room.

I shuffled backwards away from the woman like a frightened animal. "Now, now there's no need to be wary, I'm not going to hurt you," she said looking concerned and slowly set the tray down on the floor as she knelt next to my futon.

"How do you feel? You don't seem to have a temperature anymore" she said placing the back of her hand on my forehead. "Would you like something to eat or drink? I can fix you up a meal if you like?" she asked cheerily.

"I'm…" I began to answer, not knowing what I felt or whether I had an appetite yet. I just felt lost. "I don't know… I feel weird…" I groaned still staring around. "Where am I exactly?"

"This is Harumachi of the Second District" she began, but she seemed to have second thoughts. "In fact, I'll call my Husband, he can explain these things better than I," she handed me a tiny ceramic cup of green tea and got up to leave the room. "Please try to drink that, you might feel better." she smiled and left.

I sat up again, this time not feeling light-headed, and pulled my futon closer to the door. I sat cross-legged staring out over the large and peaceful tranquillity garden, sipping at my tea occasionally. "Harumachi... Second District..." I repeated under my breath not recognizing the name at all.

It took no more than five minutes for the woman to return with a man. He too was tall, middle-aged, with the same black hair as his wife but chin length and messy. He was slightly more rounded and full-faced compared to the woman's slim and sculpted features, and he wore a royal blue kimono. They both kneeled beside me and began their explanation.

"Thank you for the tea, you were right I do feel a little better" I smiled weakly, setting my now empty cup on the tray beside her.

"Good to hear. I am Shinsetsu Murasaki, and this is my wife Yoshino Murasaki, I am the leader of Harumachi village of District Two. What is your name?"

I paused for a moment. What was my name? I thought about it hard and heard a distant voice in my subconscious calling a slightly distorted name.

"I'm… K... Ki…." I struggled, trying to piece together the syllables of my first name. "Kim... Kimi? Kimiko!" I exclaimed as the name became clearer to me.

They both chuckled at my excitement. "And your family name?" Shinsetsu asked.

"Family name…" Only one name came to me when I concentrated, and I couldn't imagine a name like Kimiko being a family name, it had to be my first name. "I don't think I have one…"

They nodded at each other knowingly. "That figures. Sometimes people wake up with no memory if they've had a traumatic experience. Everything will probably come back to you one day," Shinsetsu pondered thoughtfully.

"Everything? What do you mean everything? I only forgot my name..."

"You don't know?"

"Of course she doesn't know Shin, how do you expect her to know when she's only just woke up, she's not psychic." Yoshino hissed.

"Huh? Know what? What's going on?"

"Kimiko, this is the Soul Society. Yoshino found you unconscious wearing these plain white robes-" he gestured to what I was wearing. "That means that you died in the World of the Living and came here to begin your next life, the Soul Society is what we once called the 'Afterlife'."

His wife shot him a warning look. "So much for subtlety, Shin! Just spring it on the poor girl, why don't you!"

"Good grief, woman! There's no point beating around the bush, she needs to know-" but I interrupted them with my thoughts.

"So, I did die then..."

I closed my eyes and vaguely remembered things, like a patchy, disjointed film playing behind my eyelids, quick snapshots that didn't mean anything.

I saw myself with a pearly white and transparent body, a chain in my chest, a monster and some people whose faces were blurred as if someone had blotted them out with water.

The film shot past so fast that I couldn't make any sense of it… But before I knew it I was snapping back to reality again.

"Kimiko?" Shinsetsu asked, shaking me gently by the shoulder. "Don't stress yourself out about it, the more you relax the more likely it is that your memories will return. It's not unheard of for people to suffer from amnesia, if you stress yourself out you'll only make yourself sick."

I nodded. I was already worried and felt nauseous. I had died for crying out loud! That was hardly something you could hear and get over in an instant. It was hard to come to terms with. I had had a life and lost it… but that wasn't the end. I had come to this place, this afterlife, but I had no memory of my life whatsoever.

Had my death been painful? Had my body been found? Who had I left behind? Friends, Family… A loved one? And what the hell did those flashes of images mean? What was that monster and who were the people? Were they my killers? Did I even want to know the details? Wouldn't it be better to just leave the past behind and move forward? So many questions stormed through my mind…

I snapped out of it and found Yoshino and Shinsetsu looking at me with worried expressions.

"Are you okay, child?"

I simply nodded to save the trouble of explaining my worries and changed the subject.

"So, how did I get here?"

"As Shin said, I found you." Yoshino smiled. "A neighbour and I found you out in the forest while we were picking fruit a couple of days ago, you're lucky we found you when we did,"

"Why am I lucky? I've been asleep for days?"

"You see there's been a lot of-" Shinsetsu discreetly elbowed Yoshino making her stutter and change course. "Of Illness! So many people getting sick recently. If you'd have been left there any longer who knows what could have happened-"

"Would I have died again if I'd have gotten sick?" I asked wondering if the dead could die. My mind went into overdrive trying to imagine all of the possibilities but I managed to give myself a mental shake to cut it out.

Shinsetsu chuckled and looked at his wife. I didn't like that look. That was the look of someone with something to hide.

"We'll leave that story for another time. There are much more important things for you to learn here. For example: It is customary for a new arrival to live with the family who found them and took them into their care, like an adopted family. Would you like to stay with us here?"

I weighed up my options for a moment. This family seemed nice, friendly, safe, caring... they couldn't be bad people and I had nowhere else to go, even if I couldn't shake the feeling that something was being kept from me. They may be hiding something but I couldn't just live on the streets.

"I'm grateful for you taking care of me so I will accept and live with you if it's not too much trouble" I smiled weakly again.

Shinsetsu beamed. "That's wonderful! No trouble at all, we promise to take good care of you. Now you should get some rest before dinner. Yoshino, would you mind preparing Kimiko some clothes? We can't have her walking around in these white robes forever" he said in one breath, visibly delighted with her decision.

He stood up to leave muttering something about how his daughter would react. Yoshino too left, sliding the door closed behind her and continued down the corridor she had been going to before she had spotted me.

I lay there for a while my mind still processing the splurge of information, but eventually, I drifted off to sleep.

I was woken by Yoshino later that night for dinner, which turned out to be quite the special occasion for the family. I noticed that it was already dark and the courtyard outside my room was now lit up by several fire lanterns.

"When you're finished changing come to the dining room," Yoshino told me before using her hands to illustrate directions which I memorized before changing into the clothes she had left.

Yoshino had chosen a Kimono to suit my features: Dark purple a few shades lighter than my hair which was so dark that it was almost black unless it was under bright light, with light blue embroidered patterns to match my icy cold eye colour.

I checked myself in the mirror before heading to the dining room. The clothes were tight to the point of being restricting but they suited me well and I looked presentable regardless of comfort, so off I went.

When I finally arrived I was welcomed by cheering and a delightful concoction of smells as I entered. Shinsetsu, Yoshino, a girl who looked around my age and an elderly woman sat at the table piled high with food.

"Here she is, star of the show, welcome dear!" Shinsetsu cheered from the end of the table waving at me and still beaming.

"Wow..." I mouthed staring at the packed table, saliva almost leaking from my open mouth. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how hungry I was.

"Come on in and take a seat," Shinsetsu beamed again as I chose a seat next to the young girl.

"Is it someone's birthday?" I asked, pleasantly surprised.

"I guess you could call it a birthday, today is the day you joined us." Shinsetsu agreed. "Welcome to the family, Kimiko! Enjoy the meal," he said raising a glass of ruby liquid. I noticed that his cheeks already had a slightly rosy pink tinge as if he had already been drinking.

The other three raised their glasses too. The other girl looked unimpressed at her pitiful glass of orange juice compared to her parents' wine.

"This is all for me? Really... there was no need-"

"Nonsense, it's only right to make you feel welcome! It's a rare and special occasion for someone to join our village, especially a beautiful young lady like yourself! It's a time of celebration"

I couldn't help but blush awkwardly at the compliment but I was pretty sure it was one-hundred per cent alcohol-induced.

"Thank you." and I meant it, sincerely. Even in the absence of my memories, I doubted I had ever felt this welcome or wanted in my life.

I soon found out that the young girl next to me was indeed Yoshino and Shinsetsu's only daughter, Yuuga Murasaki and the elderly woman was Yoshino's mother and Yuuga's grandmother, Chie.

From the moment I sat down the conversation had been based on me.

They asked me everything they could think of but I had no answers. It was like waking up for the first time as a baby… but in a teenage body with the abilities to talk. It was strange.

As I ate various foods my likes and dislikes came back to me. I automatically knew that I would enjoy the Ramen, but wasn't so keen on the Takoyaki, the octopus was too chewy and rubbery for my liking but clearly, I'd have had to have eaten them in my past life to know that, which proved that my memories were still there, just buried deep down. I was kind of glad to have a memory, or feeling, even if it was only something insignificant as food preferences.

They seemed to notice my faraway expression and asked what was wrong.

"Don't worry, things will come back to you quickly." Granny Chie said after I explained. "Even food is a good start. If you cannot remember everything, then think of this a fresh start a second chance to start anew."

"I never thought of it like that..." I admitted.

"There are numerous paths you could take, so many different results. You can choose to forget about your past, and not seek the answers you so desperately desire, or be patient and remember everything in due time."

How did she know that I was secretly questioning my own existence? It's like she's inside my head reading my thoughts...

"Do what you feel is best for you but do not dwell on it. Dwelling on it and forcing yourself to remember will get you nowhere." She lectured.

I was stunned for a moment. No one else seemed to realize how deeply this situation was bothering me except this wise old lady.

I spluttered out a polite "Thank you for sharing your wisdom, I'll think about what you have said" and dived for a second helping of ramen so I didn't have to look anyone in the eye.

Granny Chie had a point. Thinking about it too much would only hinder me when I could just get on with my life and choose to forget, but that curiosity burned inside of me.

Once the adult's conversation died down Yuuga began excitedly telling us about things going on around the village. It seemed that she was very involved with the community and had been holding in her excitement at my arrival until now.

She attempted to ramble on with her mouth full of noodles and almost choked.

"Yuu, table manners! Don't talk with your mouth full." Yoshino reminded her sternly and she gulped down her noodles with a drink of Juice and continued.

"Sorry, Mother. Kimiko, would you like to come out into the village with me tomorrow to help run a few errands? Maybe I'll show you around too" Yuu asked enthusiastically, her beaming smile as bright as her father's.

"Sure, sounds good. I can't stay in my room for the rest of my life, can I?"

"Fresh air will do you some good, the villagers will be so excited to meet you. I imagine that the majority of them know you are here already." Yoshino pitched in, helping herself to a fruit salad.

I raised an eyebrow. This couldn't be good news. "How could they know about me so quickly?"

"Our neighbour, who was with mother when she found you, was super excited and she likes to gossip, she'll have made sure everyone knew about you by the midnight that you arrived for sure," Yuuga giggled, all in one excited breath while dipping her Dango's into dark chocolate sauce.

"Oohh fantastic!" I sighed sarcastically. "This should be fun..."

Yuuga didn't pick up on my sarcasm at all. "Yep! It'll be fun, I promise! I'll show you around and introduce you, maybe do some shopping if we have time…"

She carried on rambling but I didn't pay attention. I didn't enjoy being the centre of attention. Even this dinner party had put me out of my comfort zone at first… Having dozens of people watching me in the street… No. Absolutely not.

After the meal, I thanked them for their hospitality and headed back to my room with no intention of sleeping, I mean, I had been out cold for a few days so why did I need more sleep? But my room was void of belongings and I had nothing to do in my spare time, so I allowed my futon to swallow me whole once more.


	3. The Spirit Shield

**Chapter 3 - The Glowing Shield**

I was woken the next morning by a loud bang and blinding light that startled me out of a restful sleep and left weird-shaped light scars on my retina. I tried to blink the lights away with my hand covering my eyes to see the person framed in my doorway.

"Kiiiimikooo, Riiiise and Shineeee" Yuuga sang, standing there in her pyjama's, laughing at my vampire-ish reaction to the sunlight.

"Ugghh... What time is it?" I groaned still half asleep.

"About eight o'clock. You know what they say, the early bird gets the worm!" She beamed again, her grin almost as bright as the sun. "I'll be waiting for you in the front courtyard, meet me there when you're dressed and cleaned up," she turned to leave and slid the door shut behind her.

I continued staring at the door for a moment, then let my head drop back onto my pillow with a great sigh, rubbing my eyes and seeing the colourful after images of the light. I had been so comfortable and warm but I couldn't just lie there all day, so I gave myself a few extra minutes then got up.

My room was pretty spacious and had two more doors leading off of it, but I hadn't had a chance to explore yet. I had correctly guessed that the one on the left was my closet, entered and looked around for a moment. A few items of clothing were hanging up on a high rail. I chose a short, knee-length violet yukata with a pale pink blossom flower embroidered on the back just beneath the neck and a pair of white pumps.

The room to the left of the closet was again an accurate guess, a little bathroom. Very small, quite cramped, but more than enough for me. As long as I had running water and some clean clothes I'd be perfectly happy.

After fixing my messy bed-hair into a high and tight ponytail on the top of my head and putting on the yukata I glanced in the long mirror on the wall. I didn't look half as rough as I thought I might. There were small bags under my eyes but those would disappear after I got more rest.

I ruffled up my hair a little bit. It was down to my collar bone in length but had many layers, so when tied up it spiked out at the top of the ponytail then fell down. Some strands were not long enough to even reach the back of my head so they fell down into midnight purple locks framing a soft white skin, pale lips and piercingly ice blue eyes that were only a few shades away from white, all complimenting each other nicely.

I blacked out for a moment as I tightened my hair bobble. Another film played behind my eyes as it had yesterday.

This time there were people in grey and white uniforms, girls and boys carrying briefcases and backpacks, a large building. It then changed and I saw myself sitting on a patch of grass under a tree. A group of boys stood around me shouting things like "Porcupine!" and "Hedgehog!" at into my face, as though they were jeering and taunting me. My head was bowed and I pulled my knees up into a ball and started shaking but they didn't stop.

The film flashed away and I came back to reality quickly, but I felt physically sick.

Staring at the mirror again I saw that my complexion was now ghostly pale. "That was... A memory?" I glanced back at my hair. I had liked its spiky effect at first, but now it gave me anxiety.

Why would people insult me about it...? I wondered, examining my appearance again, looking from every angle, trying to understand my vision.

I bit my lip. If I go out like this, what will people think of me... First impressions... then I shook away my indecisiveness. I pulled out the hair bobble, shaking my head around to mess up my layers a little.

"Now nothing can go wrong..." I assured my reflection.

I took a deep breath to compose myself and made my way down to the front courtyard as arranged.

On my way out I spotted Yoshino, who waved good morning to me from across the hallway but let me carry on with my business, knowing that Yuuga and I had made arrangements.

Yuuga was sitting on a statue in the front yard wearing a yukata similar to mine but grey with the same pale pink Sakura flower on the back, kicking her feet around and humming a tune to herself. Yuu's hair was the complete opposite of mine. It black and cut into a shoulder-length, severely straight bob style with a pink ribbon tied like a headband at the top. Prim and proper Yuu and messy me, I mused.

She spotted me and hopped down off her perch. "All ready to go? We're gonna be doing a lot of walking I think"

"Good thing I found decent flat shoes then," I said kicking a leg out and shaking my foot.

"You're gonna need 'em! Firstly I'll show you around the town, I don't have a specific schedule today so if someone asks us to do a job we'll just take it, we may even get paid," she explained, bobbing her tongue out slyly as we left through the gilded front gates into the street.

I hadn't realized how large the Murasaki house was but it was more like a small mansion from the outside. Surrounded by trees and woodland, greenery and flowers every direction I looked. It was very pleasant, the air was fresh and the breeze was the perfect temperature, even though it was my first time out of the house I felt calm and relaxed here.

Yuu noticed my faraway expression long before I snapped out of it.

"Oh, sorry. I often go off into daydreams, just poke me if I look zoned out" I laughed apologetically. "What were you saying?"

"Nothing really important, just talking about jobs"

"Right. Jobs." I repeated like a parrot. "What are these jobs? Are they difficult?"

"Just errands I help run around the village. The other older kids help too but I'm most well-known because I'm the village leader's daughter. They like asking me to help them because they know I'm reliable and get the job done. It could be anything from helping pick fruit, to helping out elderly residents. Some fun things happen sometimes and either get paid in pocket money or sometimes they'll give me sweets or small gifts"

"I don't mind helping but I wouldn't want to make a mess of things!" I said quickly "I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation"

It was clear that Yuu enjoyed her spotlight and the last thing I wanted was to steal it from her. I didn't want that kind of drama.

"Don't worry about it! Sometimes the jobs can be lonely if I'm on my own, it'll be great to have some company and someone to share the rewards with" she smiled sincerely, soon entering the main town.

"If that's the case then I'll be happy to join you, but I'm sorry beforehand if I mess up"

"Oh stop, you'll be fine, be more confident!"

We had walked down a long straight road that led directly into the village high street. On either side of the wide cobbled street were buildings and shops. The atmosphere was so cheerful and welcoming. Everywhere we looked there were people running market stalls and selling all sorts of beautifully handmade products and children playing in the street.

I had been looking around so much that I almost lost sight of Yuu, who was already off in the distance. I soon caught up to her and noticed that she was being greeted from all directions, or at least being acknowledged in some way.

Once some of the villagers had greeted her their eyes drifted to me following along like a lost puppy. I knew I looked like an awestruck tourist who was constantly distracted by shiny objects but I wasn't quite sure if the looks I was getting were due to being new or acting like such a weirdo.

Their expressions varied from that of gawping idiots and raised eyebrows to kind shouts of "Welcome", but I felt slightly uncomfortable with all of these eyes on me, especially with my newly formed self-consciousness from this morning's blackout.

"You weren't kidding when you said they would know about me were you?" I asked, fidgeting with my collar to make sure it was straight.

"Nope. I wasn't kidding. They'll get used to you and stop staring at you soon enough."

"How soon is soon?" I asked under my breath, noticing a group of boys ogling me.

I glared at them with a stare that was almost as cold as my eye colour and they instantly dropped their gazes. I turned back to watch where I was going, oddly satisfied with the scared expressions on their faces and made a mental note to practice that glare more often.

Just behind us, a man called Yuu over to his shop doorway, cheerfully greeting her. "Ah Yuu, good morning!" he called, Yuu walked over to him in reply, I followed close behind. "Mind helping me out today? I need you to collect some items for me"

"Sure, no problem. Just give me a list and that book you use and I'll set off" she smiled.

"That's great," he said, picking up a list from the stall table beside him. It seemed he was used to doing this and had already prepared said list and book long ago as if it was a routine. When he looked up to give Yuu the list he noticed me standing behind her uncomfortably and laughed. "Aha, so this is the girl everyone is talking about?"

"Yes, this is Kimiko. She is staying with my family from now on so you'll be seeing more of her. Kimi, this is our physician. He makes medicines and herbal things for the village,"

I smiled in acknowledgement and bowed politely. "Nice to meet you."

"Welcome Kimiko, if you and Yuu do this job for me I'll treat you to something from the bakery, that sound good?" he offered.

My stomach gave a perfectly timed grumble and he laughed. "Sounds great" I smiled.

Yuu gasped. "I am so sorry! I forgot to let you grab breakfast, I was so excited to take you out-"

"Its fine! Let's get going so I can have cakes for breakfast" I giggled pretending to pull Yuu away on the errand.

"My, my, aren't you the energetic one" Mr Kusuri laughed and handed his list and a book to Yuu. "Be careful girls, you know it's not safe out there these days," he added on a serious note.

"Why is it not safe-" I began to ask but Yuu cut me off.

"Of course, we'll be fine I promise, we'll be back before noon, let's go Kimi!" She rushed, grabbing my hand and pulling me away.

Shortly down the road, she noticed my worried expression.

"Look, it's nothing to worry about, forget about it and enjoy yourself"

"I'll try but I can't help but worry when I feel like something is being kept from me..." Yuu ignored me and wandered over to an old woman who was waving for her to come over. She again introduced me to another villager, this time the tailor, her daughters and apprentices, who then asked if we would bring back some buckets of water from the river.

"Sure, we're heading upstream anyway, shouldn't take long" Yuu assured them, nodding to me to accept and carry two large wooden buckets. "We'll be back in a while, okay?"

"Take your time" the woman smiled and returned to her shop.

We continued down the long high street and out onto a bright dirt path surrounded by trees, similar to the road where the Murasaki manor was situated.

"Almost at our first destination," Yuu told me casually. Soon enough the trees on either side of the road became less frequent and the road opened up onto steep dirt slopes.

My jaw dropped.

Below me was a massive orchard that went on for literal miles. Countless rows of vegetable patches, fruit trees, and rice paddies. Many people were working down on the patches, carrying around bags of produce on their backs. Children were helping their parents and playing in the fields at the far back.

"Wow, the village grows all of its food" I goggled, watching a young boy pass by us carrying a basket of apples the size of small basketballs.

"Well, where else do you expect it to come from? It doesn't fall out of the sky you know!" Yuu said howling sarcastically. I facepalmed. It had sounded fine in my head but it truly was a stupid statement. Where did I expect it to come from?

"What I mean is, you don't buy your food from other places… It's hard to explain, I'm used to buying it..." I realized this was a subconscious memory. I knew, subconsciously, that in my past life my food was bought and not grown and usually mass-produced with nothing natural in it.

"It's fine, calm down" Yuu apologized, noticing that I was getting easily embarrassed and frustrated. "The village has great weather all year round. We have a good amount of rain and even more sun, so we grow the best fruit and vegetables for miles around. Also, this area was specifically picked for its position. It is never overshadowed by anything so the sun is always hitting the whole area. We're quite well known for all of this." Yuu said proudly.

She walked a little bit further down the road to some steps, but I couldn't be bothered with steps and slid down the dirt slope, landing roughly at the bottom and almost falling flat on my face. Luckily no one had seen me almost face plant into the ground, so I brushed the dirt off my clothes and acted as if nothing happened.

We walked past a patch of what looked like giant eggplants and straight to a row of orange trees.

"You weren't kidding about this being the best, were you? This is like... mutated or something, it's gigantic" I goggled, realizing that these orange trees were far taller than average.

Yuu smiled proudly "Yep! First, we need to pick some oranges, there's some special property in the orange zest that the physician needs." We both looked up at the tall trees. Looking around, there was no one here to help us retrieve the fruit.

"So... You're telling me we need to climb these monsters?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Yuu nodded with a grin spread across her face, seemingly completely intent on keeping her feet firmly on the ground. "Usually there would be someone around who can retrieve them but it seems were alone so... Good luck!"

I gulped. "Right, here goes nothing then." I rolled up my sleeves and put one foot on the tree, wiggling it around slightly into a suitable position so that my foot wouldn't slip.

"Be careful, it's a looooooong way down!" Yuu sang.

"Harhar, very funny Yuu. I'd like to see you do thi-" and my lapse in concentration caused my left foot to slip.

Yuu yelped like a frightened puppy but I recovered quickly, replacing my foot and continuing to ascend. "Ha! Gotcha! I suggest you don't make me slip again, it's a long way down after all!" I sang back as though I had faked the move to make Yuu regret her words when my heart was pounding against my ribs madly.

Yuu squirmed, learning her lesson and plonking herself down on the floor with a sigh of relief.

"I'm impressed, you're quite athletic." She called up to me as I reached the lowest branch without any more issues, about fifty feet from the ground.

I sat on the wide part of the branch with my legs crossed for a moment to regain my breath and nerves. Yuu applauded enthusiastically from below and I flexed a weak arm muscle like a bodybuilder to show my none existent strength.

"Next time YOU are doing this, got it!? I'll even teach you how to climb," I called back down.

I straddled the branch, not daring enough to walk along it on foot, and slowly pulled myself along, picking oranges and throwing them down at Yuu as I went.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing, you need to work on your aim... Okay, okay that's enough! Kimi! don't get carried away!" Yuu called laughing as she danced around as if on hot coals, trying to dodge a few of the fruits that were aimed for her head, missing more and more of them. "Kimi, you can stop now!" and suddenly a shout came from behind her.

A woman came striding down the path we had arrived from looking furious.

"Thieves! Thieves stealing the fruit!" she shouted. At that moment I had been giggling to myself about pelting Yuu with fruit-meteors while trying to stand upright on the tree branch and move back to climb down. The sudden shout made me jump and I wobbled while in mid-turn. My foot got twisted as I tried to regain my balance and I flailed my arms around like I was trying to grow wings at the very last moment before my untimely descent.

I was plummeting to the ground head first, time seemed to be moving slowly, I could see the ground approaching, getting clearer. Yuu was running beneath me with her arms raised as if to catch me and the woman was standing there wide-eyed. At the worst possible time, my imagination kicked in and I thought how funny it would look if I landed on Yuu and squished her.

I opened my mouth, meaning to tell her to get out of my flight-path but instead, I let out a high pitched squeal of terror. I put my arms out, crossing them across my head out of pure instinct to protect my head and face, waiting for the inevitable impact.

I was suddenly engulfed by an intense white light as I came only feet away from the ground.

Yuu watched as I crashed like some sort of comet and a cloud of dust erupted around me.

"Kimi!" Yuu squealed, diving down into the dust cloud.

"I'm fine, I'm okay!" I coughed reaching out for her through the dust.

She pulled me up and out of the cloud and threw her arms around me. I could feel her heart pounding and could swear I saw water in her eyes.

"No, you're not okay! You could have died!" she said, holding me at arm's length to get a better look at my filthy hair, skin, and clothes.

"Aw look at you, you look like you took a mud bath!" she whined as if in remorse for my scuffed Yukata.

I didn't answer. I was more confused than hurt. What was that glow? Did it break my fall? I should be more hurt than this. I thought, starting to zone out again as I stared at my arms in wonder. I can't have imagined it...

Then the woman's shout brought me back to reality.

As she got closer, calling the two of us every name under the sun, I noticed Yuu's eyes closed as if she was looking deep down for her patience. She seemed to be counting to ten, quivering in anger slightly.

"Serves you right, you dirty little pickpockets! Get out of here" she shouted again, not caring that one of us had just fallen fifty feet from a tree. "Little brats I'm sick of you thinking you can take our-" and she cut off. Yuu had finally turned around to the woman with a face like thunder just as she was about to grab the back of Yuu's collar. She stopped dead. "Oh... Miss Murasaki... I'm sorry, I thought you were kids from the neighbouring district, I didn't see your face or recognize your friend..." she said suddenly turning all meek and looking guilty.

"And in all the time you were walking behind me you didn't once recognize the Murasaki family crest? Surely being a member of our village for these many long years you would recognize it!" Yuu demanded, turning me around and pointing to the pink cherry blossom embroidered on the back of my Yukata. The woman bowed her head, ashamed. "I'm sorry... are you okay?"

Yuu tsked in disgust but I put my hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Yes I'm fine, thank you. We weren't stealing, by the way; We were running an errand for the Physician-"

"Say no more. you have my deepest apologies. Take as many as you need," she smiled sincerely again.

"Thank you. We would have called someone over to help us but no one was near here so we tried to retrieve them ourselves" Yuu explained with what seemed like a hint of accusation or blame in her voice. She accepted a basket from the woman and stored a handful of oranges.

"Yes, well, I will make sure to have someone attending each of our fields more regularly in future," she said slightly awkwardly, as if annoyed that this had been allowed to happen in the first place. "Good day Ladies," she said, apparently wanting to escape before Yuu could lose her temper any more.

"You are okay though, right? No broken bones?" Yuu asked after the woman had scurried away.

"Never better!" I said, feeling truly energized with adrenaline and the thought of potentially having superpowers.


	4. Problems in Paradise

**Chapter 4 – Problems in Paradise**

We continued around the vegetable patches, collecting a few things on the list.

I watched the villagers work while speaking to them and offered to try and dig up the items for myself. Again, I rolled up my sleeves, dug my feet into the soft soil and pulled.

A giant daikon radish shot out of the ground, making me lose my footing and fall back onto my butt in the dirt. Everyone around me howled with laughter but strangely enough… I didn't care. They weren't laughing at me as I had feared, they were laughing with me. I had been having so much fun that Yuu had to pull me away from a patch of potatoes before I could get my grubby hands on them.

We thanked them for letting us get involved once we announced our departure and moved on toward our next destination.

I felt so welcomed by the villagers. Yuu had again introduced me to anyone who approached us, most of them noticing that they didn't recognize me. They had all been very friendly and helpful to us.

Not one of them had turned their noses up or ignored me so rather than hiding in Yuu's shadow I began to step up when people greeted us, smiling brightly.

The next place Yuu showed me was slightly off the beaten track, but we needed to head that direction to peel wood bark from a certain type of tree. Yuu took me up into the hillside, surrounded by yet more trees, but the last thing I expected to find was a large meadow. For as far as the eyes could see lush grass covered the hills with vibrant flowers of every colour imaginable that blew around gently in the breeze. Even with the high midday sun on my back, the large open space made the wind feel cooler.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Yuu asked dreamily, sitting in a flower patch to rest her aching feet. "This is where the little ones often come to play. In the spring and summer it's covered in flowers, but in autumn and winter there are piles of leaves everywhere from the surrounding trees and thick snow, so it's a great place to play all year round,"

I sat down too, feeling so out of shape. I was out of breath from the incline, my back ached from carrying the heavy basket on my back and my feet were throbbing. "It's amazing, there are so many pretty sights around here… It's like a paradise"

"You're probably going to live here for the rest of your life so you'll get to see plenty more spots just as wonderful as this one," she said serenely.

We continued across the meadow after having a break to eat some of the oranges we had collected.

We came to stand on the edge of the Cliffside and I found myself looking at yet another wonderful view. I had been surprised by the vegetable patch, but this was something else entirely. A large lake in the middle of the mountains and bright pink blossom tree's covering its banks. At the centre of the lake stood a small island where a painted red building sat alone with a long red bridge linking it to the land.

"Wow... A shrine?" I asked more to myself.

"Yeah. I thought you might like this place especially for the cherry blossoms, you seemed fascinated by the tree outside of your room. Is it safe to say that this is your favourite place so far?"

"Definitely! Come on let's go already" I yelled enthusiastically, grabbing Yuu's wrist and tugging her along to a row of long and steep stone steps, descending the mountain into the lakeside. We left the mass of bright, shining, vibrant flowers and descended to the lake which was shadowed by the mountains due to the current position of the sun, and therefore seemed darker and quieter.

We finally reached the bottom of the steps, which took a few minutes even with me tugging Yuu along and trying not to break our necks along the way.

The sides of the lake were lined with worn stone pavements and small monk-like statues were dotted along the waters edge like they were guarding the shrine at its centre.

The moment I passed through that red archway I felt like the weight of the world was bearing down on my shoulders, like the air itself had become heavy. I groaned in discomfort as the pressure pushed me to one knee and Yuu, startled, turned back.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?!"

I managed to pull myself up and still felt weak. "I don't know… the air feels like led…" I managed to wheeze out.

She frowned. "I can't feel anything, it seems normal to me. Maybe the gods don't like you?"

"Just my luck…" I croaked. "I've barely been here a few days... what could I have done to make them hate me?"

"Come with me, I'll help you to the shrine. Maybe if you pray they'll leave you alone"

Yuu put her arm around my waist and helped along the worn stone paths to the long, sturdy, wooden bridge that arched across the water to the shrine's main building. I read on a plaque at the entrance 'Shizun Jinja'.

We came to stop in front of a large wooden shrine. It was covered with little slips of paper tied to bars on one side, in the middle was a bell and rope, with a box at the bottom.

"We come here once every season to make a wish. We pray at this shrine for good health, fortune, luck, peace and other things. Whatever your heart desires really. Everyone swears by its power and most people say that their wishes have come true sooner or later… Can't say I've ever really noticed though…" she grumbled grudgingly.

"We usually have a small festival at the beginning of each new season but because you're new here you missed the spring festival, so do you want to make your wish now? It doesn't matter that you're not dressed up or anything, I don't think the gods will mind" she laughed.

I thought hard for a moment. What would I wish for? Luck, fortune, health, happiness, knowledge? There were so many things racing through my mind.

But I decided to make my first wish short and simple, more in the hope that this heavy pressure would let up.

Dipping the calligraphy brush into the provided ink pot I wrote "My wish is to do we'll in Harumachi. For everyone to get along well with me and for me to be accepted into this life." I wasn't really good with words and I wasn't entirely sure if that counted as one single wish; but hopefully, the gods would get the idea and give me a break on this heavy air pressure.

I folded up the paper without showing Yuu and tied it to the already crowded bars with all of the other wishes. Yuu gave me a small, dark, round coin with a hole in the middle and I dropped it into the box below the bell. I then pulled the roped attached to the bell and clapped twice, calling the gods to attention for a moment of prayer.

Once I finished I turned around to Yuu and smiled. "I hope my wish comes true like everyone else's"

"What did you wish for?" Yuu asked curiously.

I made an indignant tutting noise. "I can't tell you that, aren't wishes broken if you tell them to someone? It'll never come true if I tell you," After a moment I realized that this was another lost memory. How else would I know something like that?

"Oh right, yeah, sorry," Yuu waved, realizing what she was saying.

"So, where to next?" I asked, eager for more sightseeing.

"Only one more place left now, we just have to follow the river upstream, but we need to peel some bark off the blossom tree's first."

Unfortunately, it seemed that the gods hadn't forgiven me yet. I felt oppressed and weighed down like an invisible deity had jumped on me for a piggyback, so I sat down weakly at the water's edge and let Yuu take the task of peeling the bark. She finished up quickly and I hurried to the red gate that marked the shrine's outside perimeter on the other side of the lake. Miraculously, the moment I passed the threshold the air eased and felt normal again, almost like the archway marked an invisible barrier that contained the heavy feeling.

Yuu came over to me with a few scraps of wood in her own basket and two of the largest blossom flowers I'd ever seen in either hand. She fixed one behind her ear and did the same for me and we set off again.

"Sorry about that... I'm not sure what was happening but I couldn't feel a thing... Maybe you're just tired?

I shook my head. "No, its was nothing like that. I don't know but it was a bizarre feeling..." I made a mental note to find out what the hell that feeling was at some point and why Yuu couldn't feel it.

As we followed the river the scenery changed again, leaving the cherry blossoms behind and changing into the lush green forest again. A mile or so along the river, we finally came to a basin with a large waterfall towering high above us. The water was crystal clear with a teal blue shine to it.

"This is the Ryuutaki River, it comes from high in the mountains and unless we go out of the district's perimeters, this is the furthest we can go. We often come here to play in the water when it's hot. This is also our drinking water. It's completely clean and pure. Our bathing water comes from the river that passes near town too, the pipes bring it into our homes."

"It's so pretty. I love this place..." I felt like I was repeating myself a lot today but it was the truth, I couldn't help but be in awe of my new home.

Yuu beamed again, happy that she could please me. "So, down to business!" and she pulled her book out to show me the two plants we needed.

One was an aquatic riverbed plant that looked like seaweed, the other was a white lotus flower. "If you like I can get the aquatic plant, you can collect the lotuses, they are blooming perfectly at this time of the year so it's important we collect as many as possible," she said rolling up her sleeves. She removed the basket from her back and placed it against a tree, and without waiting for an answer, she kicked off her shoes and dived into the basin.

"Damn it Yuu, could have waited for me! Right... white lotus, white lotus..." I repeated to myself, scanning the river and found one quite soon. It was bigger than I expected, attached to thick roots below the water and hugging the river bank as if not wanting to be swept away by the gentle current.

I rolled my sleeves up to my shoulders and tucked the hem of the yukata into my underwear, just enough to cover me and stop it from coming undone in the water. After a while, even though I wasn't massively confident at swimming, I had no choice but to wade out of the shallow river and into the edge of the basin. Yuu surfaced close by to get some air and dived again.

By the time she had finally found this seaweed, I had already collected over ten lotuses, all piled up neatly in the basket, which could hold small amounts of water to keep them moist.

Yuu added the seaweed to the basket and having spotted my nervousness of deepwater she pushed me back into the basins deep end head first. I flailed around for a moment like an angry cat in a bathtub, and then calmed down when I realized how close I was to the edge.

"No fair! It's your turn!" And I hoisted myself up over the edge to grab Yuu's arm and pull her in too.

We had so much fun, just splashing around in the water, floating near the waterfall, challenging each other to breath-holding competitions. We were there so long that we lost track of time. Just as a looked down at my hands and notice their resemblance to dried prunes a call came from the top of the waterfall.

We both froze and fell silent, looking around for the position of the speaker and saw two black-robed figures looking down on us from a rock on the waterfall.

They both made a jump and landed neatly at the side of the river without looking the slightest bit hurt. My eyes widened in surprise. I fell from a tree higher than that waterfall and could have been seriously hurt if it wasn't for that white glow… but these two can jump from a giant waterfall and be completely unharmed... that is not normal! I thought.

"Identify yourselves!" a tall man demanded. I noticed something glint at his right side and backed away in horror. A sword. He was holding the hilt so that it was slightly out of its scabbard. The woman beside him did the same, the metal shining brightly in the sunlight.

Yuu immediately dropped her happy and playful attitude, she stood up in the shallow end and announced: "Yuuga and Kimiko Murasaki. Daughters of the Leader's of Harumachi, Shinsetsu, and Yoshino Murasaki, we are here on an errand for village businesses."

The male Shinigami raised an eyebrow. "This doesn't look like an errand to me, and I was only aware of one daughter from the Head Family of Harumachi." He stated with a suspicious, accusatory tone.

"We got distracted and lost track of time. As for the case of identity, my sister is new to this world. If you have any queries take it up with the family, they will confirm this."

The man looked at his female comrade and nodded. "Very well we will let you off this time and speak with the head family. You two should finish your 'errand' and get home immediately, you should know it's not safe here." and without any explanation, the two disappeared into thin air.

Yuu let out a sigh of relief and helped me out into the shallow end and out of the river. She looked utterly terrified.

"Who were those people, Yuu?"

"No one you need to worry about, trust me it's fine." She mumbled, clearly avoiding eye contact while she rang the water out of her clothes.

"Nothing to worry about? Yuu, those guys were holding swords! Do you hear me? SWORDS, big, long, sharp, pointy, deadly things and you tell me it's nothing to worry about?" I rushed all in one breath.

"Kimi chill, they wouldn't have attacked us anyway, they were just on patrol for criminals that's all. But they are right, we should get home soon." she said pointing towards the sky. The sun had gone in and the sky was looking grey. I gritted my teeth and agreed, fighting back all the questions I wanted answers to.

We picked our baskets up and carried them on our backs, jogging along the river fast but we couldn't beat the downpour. The heavens opened within minutes, a mini monsoon pelting us like golf-ball-sized bullets.

Yuu pulled me over into the forest and we sheltered under the wild roots of a tall, hollowed out tree.

"We'll have to wait 'til it's over. April showers always take you by surprise." I nodded and sat against the tree roots uncomfortably.

I took an orange out of my basket and threw one to Yuu, not saying anything.

I felt betrayed that something was going on right under my nose, but no one was willing to fill me in. I was being kept in the dark. It gave me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, one of uncertainty. I tried to imagine what it could be that they were hiding and all sorts of farfetched ideas came to mind.

"Yuu?" I finally asked, deciding to change the subject to something I was curious about, something that Yuu would most likely answer.

"Yeah?" she asked discarding her orange skin in the basket beside her.

"Is this how everyone treats the Murasaki family?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"How everyone in the village acts towards you, do the Murasaki's get special privileges for being the leaders of the village?" I asked. I wasn't angry or anything, just curious.

"Well, I guess you could say that we have some privileges but the whole village is more like a family. We all care about each other like family and look out for one another. I am indeed popular because I'm the leader's daughter and I'm kind of like a favourite, but you probably will be too.

It's more like a respect sort of thing. We are good leaders and everyone respects us for how well we treat the villagers and how well we run this place and keep it in order. They respect us for giving them such a wonderful life. As long as everyone works their fair share and doesn't cause trouble, everyone will treat you as an equal." She paused.

"They like you already, you know. I can tell."

"Because I helped them with my own share of work?"

"Exactly. Most would just stand there and wait for their food to be picked for them, but even though you're new you opted to get your hands dirty straight away without even being asked. You just took the initiative and did it, thats the sort of action that our people respect."

"This place is my home now. If these people treat me well then I want to do the same for them. I can't stand by and expect everyone to do everything for me. No offence Yuu, but I'm going to steer clear of the 'Popular Daughter' thing and work for my respect. Popularity and being the centre of attention isn't my style." I said, a determined fire flickering in my eyes.

Yuu shook her head and laughed "No offence taken, I understand what you mean. I work hard because I feel that even though I'm just a daughter, I have a responsibility in the village and I should be like a role model for the little kids. Dad always taught me that being a lazy leader earns no respect. I am the heir to the village one day, if I am to be a good leader I need to get involved."

"That's a good way to think and I'm sure ti will work out for you. The village seems like such a luxurious haven, nothing bad happens here, it's great"

I let out an unexpected yawn. The day's exercise seemed to be catching up with me and the rain wasn't going to let up and time soon. I stretched and lay back with my arms behind my head, listening to the pattering of the rainstorm.

Yuu gave a pained smile and looked away out at the rain too. "You really are lucky."

"I've heard that at least three times since I arrived here," I smirked.

"No, really, you are. Not every village is like ours, and we have worked hard over hundreds of years to make our village a safe place to live. It wasn't always like this." Yuu explained.

I opened my eyes to see Yuu looking slightly upset. I stared questioningly.

"Let me explain, I hope you can understand this, there's a lot to take in. I'll also answer your questions from earlier."

"About time-" I mumbled.

"Well. Harumachi is in District Two of the Soul Society. The lower the district number the closer we are to the centre of the Soul Society, the Seireitei. The closer you are to that area the safer it becomes. The higher districts that are further away from the law and order of the Seireitei are dangerous and violent slums where life is hard, every day is a fight for survival there."

My eyes widened in surprise. "I would never have expected that judging by the lifestyle in this region.

Yuu nodded. "Exactly. You would never know unless you experienced it first-hand. You are so lucky that you didn't end up in one of those places, they are the complete opposite to Harumachi and the first districts.

Even Harumachi wasn't a very safe place until a few hundred years ago when the Noble's cleaned the place up. But my ancestors, as the leaders swore that that sort of life of crime and poverty was not what we wanted. We decided to treat every person in the village-like family, care for one another, help each other and be as one. Even though we are the second district and not first, I would say we are the best town in the whole Soul Society. I've experienced the bad side of life here and I wouldn't wish it on anybody."

I paused to take this in. "I'm sorry, Yuu. I didn't know it could be like that, I'm sorry if you had to experience the bad things in life…"

"Don't worry about it, you're new here so it would be impossible for you to know and understand everything the second you wake up, you need to learn things" she smiled again, and I spotted a glimmer of tears in her eyes.

I looked away, feeling ashamed for making her upset.

A few moments of silence passed before she decided to ask more questions. "By the way, when you said nobles, you mean there are noble families? Like Lords?"

"Yeah. The noble families live in these first districts and inside the Seireitei. Most of the noble families are Soul Reapers anyway. We are descendants of the first nobles who settled in Harumachi hundreds of years ago, that's why the leadership of the village was handed down through our bloodline. All of this is the reason Harumachi is a great village and we are so respected. We took people away from lives of hell and gave them a chance to live in luxury, and they adore us for it."

I nodded and smiled. "I understand now, and I'm now even gladder to be part of it all. But now another question... What the hell is a Soul Reaper?!"

I still wanted that question answering because when I heard this term my cursed overactive imagination rendered an image of some ghostly skeletal dude in flowing black robes holding a scythe, lurking over my shoulder, and it was bugging the hell out of me.

"That's a long story..."

"You said you would answer it!" I snarled, determined to not let her go back on her word.

"All right. Those people we saw earlier were Soul Reapers. The Soul Reapers live in the Seireitei, they wear black uniforms, carry swords and they often patrol around these areas. They keep law and order around the Soul Society and take care of spiritual matters in the World of the Living"

I tried to remember those black robes in my mind's eye, but almost instantly I blacked out again. For the second time that day, a fast-paced film played behind my eyes.

A girl wearing tight black leggings, a black sweatshirt and black slippers stood shortly in front of me holding a sword and slicing through monster-like creatures. A blonde man with a white cloak over the top of a similar black uniform, and a dark-skinned, dark-haired woman wearing the same. That woman was stood next to me smiling kindly as she explained something. It was clear to me that she was speaking despite her face being blurred as if being censored somehow.

"Kimi! Kiiimikooo~ Wake up!" Yuu sang. She was leaning over to me waving her hand in my face.

"Oh... Sorry" I said as my voice cleared.

"What's wrong? You look pale..." she asked placing a hand on my forehead to feel my temperature. "You haven't caught a cold from the rain have you?"

"No... " I hesitated. "I think a piece of my memory came back to me"

"Oh? Is that a good thing?" and I explained what I saw to Yuu.

"Well... I'm not an expert on Soul Reapers but they often enter the village. What you saw was definitely a Soul Reaper and her Captains. Though I've never met a Captain before."

"So those Soul Reapers were protecting me? They're the good guys?"

"Yes, Soul Reapers are the good guys and they would never kill an innocent person. They are here to protect, and I'm guessing the monster was a Hollow. I've heard stories about them too. Maybe you can ask a Soul Reaper about that memory if you see one around" she suggested.

"Maybe if I get a chance." I agreed, drawing my legs up to my chest and laying my head on my knees. Yuuga continued to look concerned.

"Let's wait for the rain to stop and we'll get you home."

The rain lasted a long time, for what felt like hours, but I didn't feel well enough to walk out in heavy rain and cold wind, so we waited. And waited. And waited some more until finally, a ray of sunlight broke through the dismal grey clouds. Yuu shook me out of my stupor.

She announced that she knew a shortcut through the woods and over the hills that would get us home faster. We made it back to the village within twenty minutes or so that way.

We dropped the heavy buckets of water from the waterfall at the tailor's shop with their many thanks and continued to the physician. He too was delighted to see us.

"Welcome back girls, I was worried you got caught in the rainstorm,"

"We did, but we found somewhere to shelter until it ended, so we're fine," Yuu told him, dropping the basket of fruit and flowers beside him. He examined them all for a moment, checking that we had brought back the correct items.

"Excellent, what a fine job you did and as promised here is your reward" he handed both of us a handful of coins, the same as the one Yuu had given me earlier at the shrine.

"There's 300 Kan each, help yourself to something from the bakery." he smiled.

We both thanked him with a small bow and waved goodbye.

"So do you want to go home and rest or get a bite to eat?" Yuu asked, still looking concerned about my little episode earlier.

"I'm fine, let's go get some food, I'm starving." I agreed, stretching and tapping my grumbling belly. Yuu gave me another funny look, shook her head and carried on walking.


	5. Hunger pains

**Chapter 5 – Hunger Pains**

I stared at Yuu as she walked away. "What? What was that look for?"

She shook her head in response. "It's nothing..."

"What the hell! Why do people always say 'It's nothing'? If it was nothing you wouldn't have said it in the first place!" I ranted wringing my hands in the motion of shaking some sense into her.

My temper was rising like a boiling kettle and I couldn't control it. The feeling of being completely out of the loop was beyond infuriating. "You wouldn't give me a funny look just cause you felt like it, would you?! Just tell me!"

"Kimi!" she said sharply whirling around. She lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. "Calm down, you're making a scene. I will tell you when it is appropriate to do so."

The authority in her voice centred me and I lowered my hands and matched her stride as we left the area.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. It's a long and complicated story, so if you calm down we will get food and find somewhere comfortable to talk."

I nodded. Sounded reasonable enough and if I was to demand answers right now like I really wanted to, I would probably wind up back at square one: Being stonewalled. At least this was progress. "Fine. But you're not sneaking out of this one-"

The smell floated out of the open shop door and down the road, the scent of freshly baked bread smacked me in the face like I had walked head first into a brick wall and I came to a halt.

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked taking a long sniff and momentarily forgetting my trouble.

"Knock yourself out!" Yuu smiled looking relieved to change the subject and I ran ahead into the shop, pulling my little round coins out of my pocket.

There were rows and rows of savouries and desserts in all shapes, colours and designs. The ones that particularly caught my eyes were the most colourful ones, which had little faces drawn on them in chocolate icing.

Yuu wandered in behind me and called greetings to the staff who clearly knew her very well.

"What's this one?" I asked the smiling old woman behind the counter, pointing towards a bright pink round ball with a smiling cat face drawn on it.

"That's Mochi, it's similar to Dango but with a filling. We have Jam, Ice-cream, cream, fruit or jelly."

"I'll have a raspberry ice-cream Mochi, please!" I sang cheerily not even knowing what Dango was but Ice-cream was involved so I didn't really care.

"Kimi slow down would ya. You should look at the other things too, they don't only make Japanese foods, there are things from all over the world here."

"That's true Missy, people from every corner of the globe live in Soul Society, we have to cater for all of them," the lady told her pointing over to the next counter where flakey pastries sat.

"I never thought of that..."

"Japanese and English are the most common languages and writings and most make an effort to become fluent in those two, but people find comfort in their own foods and that's a hard habit to shake, so there's a bit of everything here"

"But still, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon so I have plenty of time to try everything," I beamed. "So, 300 Kan worth of Mochi please!"

Yuu tapped her hand on her forehead despairingly, but the woman behind the counter obliged picking an assortment of coloured Mochi balls. "You are the new Murasaki daughter, aren't you?" the woman asked kindly.

I nodded. "Yeah, my name is Kimiko. I arrived here a few days ago but today is my first time out of the manor since I arrived."

"In that case, welcome to the village." The woman handed over a little wooden case filled with sweets. "There are a few extra there as a welcome gift," she said with a wink. I grinned even brighter like an excited child and handed over my money, thanked the woman and waited for Yuu to choose hers.

Eventually, after a few minutes of scanning a huge assortment of food, she chose a Yum-yum. A British dough twist covered in sugar and icing.

"We soooooo have to go there more often!" I said as we wandered down the path in the direction we had been heading.

"You won't be getting freebies every day you know, that was just a welcome gift"

"I know that. I don't need handouts, just good food and they have plenty of that!"

The sun had finally broken through the clouds, bringing back the comfortable spring weather we had been enjoying this morning, so rather than returning home, Yuu led us along another of her many shortcuts to the edge of the Ryuutaki river that passed alongside the town.

We sat at the Riverside on some carved tree stumps eating our desserts in companionable silence, watching fish in the shimmering water.

"Is this another place you come to often?" I asked expecting the answer to be yes like all of the other places she had shown me so far.

"Actually no, not for a long time" I was surprised by this answer and actually paused while eating a green and red ball of watermelon Mochi.

"I haven't been here for many years because there has been no one to join me. I used to come here when I was young with some other kids from the village. When the weather was nice and we wanted somewhere to play that was close to home, we came here. When we were a bit older we carved these stumps as somewhere to sit, but eventually we all went our separate ways. A couple of my friends became Soul Reapers or some moved towns, some just lost contact with me. When I had no one to hang with I started doing jobs around the village just for something to keep myself occupied."

"It's sad that they all lost contact with you... but now you have me to hang around with, right?"

"Right!" she smiled then paused for a few moments to stare at the fish in the river. "Kimi?" she asked hesitantly.

"Uhm?" I mumbled, my mouth too full too speak.

"Are you actually hungry?"

"Of course I am, my appetite went through the roof as soon as I smelled last night's dinner. I've been running on empty all day, we really should have had breakfast before coming out of the manor-"

Yuu interrupted me, sounding more serious. "No, what I'm asking is are you actually hungry like you would be if you were still alive? Belly pains, grumbles, feeling weak if you haven't eaten for too long, full stomach when you've finished eating, you can taste everything?"

"Well, yeah… You ask that like it's a weird thing…"

She shook her head. "I don't mean to weird you out but It kinda is. Truth is that most people here, including myself, don't get hungry. That's why I gave you that funny look earlier. In the Soul Society, you only get hungry if you have Spiritual Energy. If you don't have the spiritual energy you will never be hungry. You're dead. You're a wandering soul. Your body has no need for hunger because there's nothing to fuel."

I blinked in surprise. "So why do you eat if you don't need to?"

It was Yuu's turn to blink. "You're really asking that question first? Aren't you more interested in what spirit energy is and what that means for you?!"

"Well yeah I am but I just don't see the point in eating and spending money on something that has no purpose for you… Especially as food is such a huge thing for this village. Whats the point in spending so much time and effort in the fields if it's so needless… It just doesn't add up"

"Because we ate as living people. It's part of life, it's normal. We need something to enjoy, even though it doesn't fill us up and we can only barely taste it, eating is part of living. Food and eating is something taken for granted in the World of the Living, but it's amazing how important it becomes when you realize how much you miss it."

"That makes sense… I can't imagine a life without food come to think of it…"

Yuu nodded. "I'll inform my parents, they can keep an eye on you and make sure you are well fed. You'll be in trouble if you don't eat often. You'll feel weaklike you would if you didn't eat in the real world but far worse. If you get hungry often you probably have high spiritual energy, If that's the case then you may have to train to use it and keep it stable..."

My head was bursting with questions faster than I could form them into words. "Train? How? Why? What does spiritual energy do? Is it like a special power? Is it dangerous? Why is it so rare?"

Yuu shook her head. "See, those are the questions you should be asking! But unfortunately, you're better off asking a Soul Reaper about that stuff. I know that spiritual energy is what Soul Reapers have, it's some sort of power, and it can sometimes be seen as a coloured aura. I saw a Reaper playing with little kids in the village once, I'm not sure what he was doing but he had a blue aura of light around him."

"Light?" I asked thoughtfully and the moment of falling from the orange tree flashed into my mind's eye. "That happened to me earlier! When I fell from that tree, my arms glowed with a bright white light and it broke my fall, that's why I wasn't hurt!" I paused again, deep in thought. "By training you mean I need to learn how to use my power and control it I assume?"

"Exactly. You can do some strange but awesome things with that power once you understand it"

"And if I do learn how to control it, I will become a Soul Reaper?"

Yuu laughed. "You say it like you just transform one day. No, you have to go to Soul Reaper school and go through all sorts of exams. It's really complicated. No Harumachi villagers have become Soul Reapers for over one hundred years."

"Then I'll be the first Harumachi Soul Reaper in over one hundred years, simple!" I announced ambitiously, clapping the icing sugar off my hands with enthusiasm. "Wait... didn't you say some of your friends became Soul Reapers? But... you are my age..."

Yuu laughed again, this one must really have put a baffled expression on my face. "Sorry, I forgot to mention that. In the Soul Society, the rate of ageing is totally different from the rate in the World of the Living. You age slowly. I may look around the same age as you, but I'm actually one hundred and thirty-six."

I nearly choked on my third Mochi ball. " How is that even possible?!"

"You'll get used to it. You too will age slowly. Your hair and nails will grow normally but your facial features and body will change slowly. You'll look sixteen for a very long time."

I shrugged, finding this quite convenient. "That suits me just fine, at least I won't get wrinkles any time soon!"

"That's exactly what I thought too!" Yuu chuckled.

"But if I can train my spirit energy and become good at controlling it, I'll surely become good enough to be a Soul Reaper!"

"You should learn more about Soul Reapers and the things they can do before you commit yourself to it. You barely know anything about it, you don't know how to train either,"

"If it takes tons of practice and a ton of research then so be it. I'm prepared to do that. So far I know that Soul Reapers help people... Those people that helped me- no, saved me... I want to thank them and help people like they did. If that's what Soul Reapers do, then I'm in!"

The corners of Yuu's lips twitched into a pained smile. "It's great for you to have a long-term goal, it's something for you to strive for and if you work hard I have no doubt you'll get there."

She lowered her head a little and her hair hung close around her face so I couldn't quite see her expression as she finished the last bite of her yum-yum.

We both leaned down to the gentle stream to rinse the sugar and icing off our hands but Yuu got up to leave before I finished.

"We should be getting home. It's getting late, Mother will be worried about us." and with that, she walked away. I frowned, worried that I had upset her in some way and followed.


	6. Settling In

31/05/2018 - Fixed the formatting and a few third person errors while uploading to DeviantArt. Currently working on Chapter 26

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Settling In**

We made it home around two hours before dinner was due. In those two hours, I decided to have a nice long bath mainly so Yuu could have some alone time. She didn't seem in the mood for talking so she left her be. It had been a long and tiring day and what I needed the most right now was a long soak in a red-hot bath.

My mood fell when I made it back to my desolate bedroom. I really needed to spruce the place up a bit. A few books and something to put on the walls would make it feel a bit homelier, but at least the bathroom was well stocked. There was even bubble bath!

I ran the water, emptying half of the foamy bottle into it, threw off my dusty yukata and stepped into the large steaming tub. The water wasn't unbearably hot but it was enough to make my skin red, so I wouldn't be able to lie here for long.

I relaxed, remembering the events of the day. The thing that really stuck out was the white light and finding out later that it was spiritual energy. Something rare and mysterious.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back over the edge of the tub, visioning the white light in my mind's eye and trying to summon it again.

When it had happened, I had been trying to protect my body from a potentially deadly fall and my arms had acted like a shield forming the protective white light. I held my arms out again and tried to summon the light, but nothing happened.

"Maybe it's one of those stupid things that only happens when you need it most..." I grumbled aloud.

But then another thought struck me. If I could use my arms as a shield, would I be able to summon it in similar places for different uses? Like at my feet to run faster or jump higher, to strengthen my arms or punch harder.

"That would be awesome..." I smiled imagining myself as some sort of superhuman. I wanted to try it out the second I got the chance, but summoning the light seemed easier said than done. It would probably become easier with practice though.

After forty-five minutes of absent-mindedly pondering the meanings of spiritual energy and letting my imagination run wild, I noticed that I was literally cooking.

The water wasn't getting much cooler and forty-five minutes of stifling steam had me feeling light-headed.

I finally got out and retreated into the comfort of my futon with a clean plain white bathrobe and a towel wrapped around my head.

For the remainder of the time until dinner, I put my theories into action.

I sat up straight, legs crossed, concentrating heavily on my outstretched hands. In over an hour the most I managed to do was form a tiny speck of light on the tip of my index finger.

When it happened, I had been concentrating on my right hand so hard I was going red in the face from holding my breath. It felt like my hand was pulsing, kinda like blood flow but something else. It was the flow of energy in my body increasing, like tingling waves of coldness in my veins. Instead of trying to make my whole hand glow I tried one single finger, and it worked.

I smiled ecstatically "Yes! Finally!" and leaned in to get a good look at it. It looked almost like a shard of glass. It was nothing impressive, but it was a start.

I released the energy and it fizzled out. I felt my body relax and only then did I see how hard I was straining to force the power out. I wondered if straining my physical body for something that was more likely to be centered in the mind was more of a hindrance. So I relaxed my muscles and tried again, and again, and again until it became easy to do after a few minutes of focus.

A shadow walked past my door. "Miss Kimiko, dinner is ready" a woman called, kneeling outside of my door without opening it or announcing her arrival.

 _ **Must be one of the maids,**_ I thought _ **.**_ "Thank you, I'll be right there"

I had to stretch a bit to work the tightness out of my muscles from sitting still for so long.

I threw on another Kimono that was hanging in my closet, this time grey with pink flowers, and rushed over to dinner.

Yoshino and Shinsetsu wanted to know all about our day but Yuu didn't say much and I purposely kept out the parts about the Soul Reapers and spirit energy. She was unusually subdued and I had been expecting her to be dying to tell her parents about how much fun we had. But nothing, she silently pushed her food around her plate and that was all.

They were just happy that I was fitting in so well and encouraged me to get out and explore more as long as I was with Yuu, seeming not to notice how down their daughter looked.

The meal hadn't been as extravagant as it was the previous night, as that had been more of a celebration, but they had laid out plenty of delicious food.

I was truly impressed now, considering the rest of the family didn't get hungry and could barely taste the food, or so Yuu told me anyway, they were exceptional cooks.

I guessed that Yuu had already spoken to her parents about my hunger issues and they had made sure to have plenty of choice for me like I was a turkey being fattened up for Christmas dinner.

I suddenly had random mental images of them fattening me up with food, throwing me into a giant cooking pot and then stirring the mixture while they laughed like witches. I shook the strange idea out of my head.

I returned to my room a while later, pleasantly full again. Considering I had eaten less than two hours before dinner I was surprised by how hungry I was. "Maybe using spiritual energy makes you hungrier faster, like your draining yourself of energy and needing to refuel" I pondered, making the crystal on my fingertip again as I sat down.

Again I made myself comfortable on top of my futon. I wasn't tired and it wasn't even getting dark yet so bedtime was out of the question, and the only thing I had to keep myself occupied was my little white light.

I envisioned my body igniting up like a light bulb in my mind's eye and outstretched my arms again, as I had done when it had first appeared.

To my delight, the room was aglow with a brilliant white light emitting from the air around me. I cheered in triumph. "It's just like Yuu described, an aura... it feels like energy is coursing through me!" the air around me felt different, denser and my hair flew around like a breeze was blowing. Though it lasted no longer than a minute and I enjoyed every moment of it.

I spent hours that night trying to make my hands and feet glow, which I succeeded on numerous times.

I couldn't help but laugh as I imagined what it might look like to someone outside of the room like someone was playing with an extremely bright flashlight for hours into the night.

But in my tiny little bedroom, I could do nothing with this new-found power. I had nothing to test out on, so eventually, I stopped. A combination of my nicely heated bedroom, my comfortable futon, and a tired body made me easily drift off to sleep.

The next morning was a repeat of the previous day, although somewhat less disorientating.

I was woken by Yuu again, though this time she crept in slowly and nudged me rather than scaring the living daylights out of me.

"Wake up, it's eight" Yuu whispered shaking me lightly.

"All right, okay, I'm getting up" I grumbled groggily.

"Good, we've got some shopping to do, Mom is joining us"

"Oh yeah? Why?"

"We're going shopping for you, dummy. Meet us out on the courtyard again" and she left, closing the door behind her.

Again, I lay there for a few minutes allowing myself to wake up and eyes adjust before washing and dressing.

It seemed that Yuu had taken note of my mention of breakfast yesterday. Yoshino was carrying a box of sandwiches, which she offered to me when they met in the yard twenty minutes later.

"Thanks, this should keep me going until at least lunchtime," I said munching away at a pork and stuffing sandwich, leftovers from last night.

Yoshino smiled and nodded in agreement. "Shin and I are usually up before Yuu and she wakes up she rushes out before we get chance to see her, let alone prepare breakfast for her. But don't worry, we'll be having breakfast from now on whether we're going out or not"

"The last thing we want is you feeling weak" Yuu agreed.

I smiled. It was nice to know they cared so much about me. "Thanks. So... where are we going?"

"Just into the village. You've been here for a few days and you still have no personal belongings, furniture or your own clothes" Yoshino said with a sigh.

"Yeah I was thinking about that last night, I don't like how bare my room is" I pondered. "Though I don't have any money, how am I supposed to pay for stuff?"

Yoshino laughed "My dear, you really think I would make you pay for things when you have no money? I'll pay don't you worry. When you have your own money, you can pay for yourself. But you can't walk around in the same clothes every day" she looked at the dusty yukata that I had also worn yesterday.

"Just this once, and I promise I'll pay you back!"

"Very well, if that makes you feel better" Yoshino agreed.

"Not that you had the choice to decline" Yuu chuckled under her breath.

"Then first we'll head to the tailors. Clothes are the most important." They spent what felt like hours in the tailor shop, though it probably was hours.

Yoshino had insisted that they first choose four Kimono's for the four seasonal festivals, so I had to be measured and fitted. To my horror, the tailor commented on my measurements out loud.

"thirty-four bust... twenty-four waist... thirty-two hips... exactly five foot tall. My, my you are petite. Your size is in the middle of adult and child average sizes so we will have to make these custom for you"

I whimpered uncomfortably. "Did you have to announce it to the whole shop?"

"Nothing wrong with being small, small is cute" Yuu patted me on the shoulder.

"Easy for you to say!" Yuu was at least a head taller than me, curvier and bigger chest. Not to mention Yuu had her mother's clear smooth porcelain skin, emerald green eyes and the almost carved facial features of a Japanese doll.

I, on the other hand, was short, had a small chest, a round face, hamster cheeks, a ghostly complexion, a little round button nose and creepy ice colored eyes that scared people. I couldn't even be mistaken as a blood relative of the Murasaki's. The only thing similar between us was the straight, jet black hair; but even on that point, if I was to step into bright light or sunlight it would glint a poisonous purple.

It was obvious from a mile away that they were not related, and she felt inferior to it. The Murasaki's had an air of gracefulness and nobility that I just didn't have in me. I felt like a stray that Yoshino and brought home and begged to keep.

We spent a long time looking through styles and colors of kimonos for the season's festivals. Yoshino and I could not come to an agreement on which to pick. I found after trying on a few different styles that I had a hatred of having my legs covered.

"I don't know, it's weird, my legs just feel hot and uncomfortable when they are covered, especially by the warm fabric" I tried to explain to them while fidgeting "I prefer the cool air around my legs" they sighed and eventually agreed to let me pick a short Kimono for Spring and Summer, but she had no choice but to wear long ones for autumn and winter, they wouldn't take no for an answer no matter how much I complained.

Once the colors and designs of the kimonos were picked we moved on to the casual clothes.

"You do know that in the winter you will have to wear trousers or tights?" Yoshino informed me as I picked through the choices of shorts, short yukata dresses, and skirts.

"I know that but when it's warm I get too hot. I like shorts they're comfortable" I was also drawn to darker colors. Blacks, blues, and purples in particular.

"Kimi, you're female, you need to wear something a bit more feminine!" Yuu frowned as I ignored the sunset yellow T-shirt and made a beeline for a black one with red flower patterns all over it.

"It is feminine! It's made for females, not men so of course, it's feminine, there's nothing wrong with it." I reasoned with a logic that only made sense to me.

"I mean the colors! And you can't wear black all of the time. And you must remember that certain colors and patterns have meanings. Warm colors like reds and yellows represent the warm seasons and cold colors like blues and blacks represent the cold seasons or even night time. And sometimes individual colors have meanings" Yuu tried to explain to me, as though she had swallowed and regurgitated a book.

"Then I'll wear black and pink for spring, black and green for summer, black and gold for autumn and black and blue for winter, is that better?"

Yuu and Yoshino both groaned. "There's no reasoning with her is there?" Yoshino asked.

"Seems not" Yuu agreed as I grinned triumphantly and scooted off to the cold color section.

So eventually after a few hours of fitting, measuring, scanning around the store and trying to reason with me on what to wear and what might suit me, we finally got the four Kimono's and a bunch of casual clothes and moved on.

We did a little more shopping and ended up with an array of items from books for me to read in my spare time, to hair products and jewelry.

"Maaaan all of this shopping has made me hungry" I grumbled rubbing my aching belly with my wrist, as both of my hands were occupied by heavy bags.

"We can stop off at the bakery on our way back if you like?" Yuu asked, waiting for my head to flick up and that grin to spread across my face.

"Sounds good to me! I need to sample the rest of the shop as soon as possible" I said enthusiastically and sped up my pace.

We did indeed stop off at the bakery and this time Kimi chose a cream doughnut with caramel sauce. Yoshino had a chicken sandwich and Yuu had double chocolate cookies. We sat outside the shop on a shaded table while eating and chatting about our purchases.

I felt something warm brush against my leg and jumped, something ran under the table startled by my movement. I looked down to see a large and fluffy brown tabby cat crouching warily below us.

"Aww, Hi there little guy! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you" I apologized offering my hand to it. It quickly changed its mind and rubbed its head on my arm in approval.

I chuckled as it stared up at me, curling its tail around my leg happily.

"Kimi, I think he wants something from you" Yuu laughed.

"Wants something?" sure enough the cat was now eyeing up my doughnut with gleaming yellow eyes. "You want this cream, huh?" Its ear flicked at the sound of the word 'cream' and he curled around my leg again. "Okay, but only a little bit"

Soon after we got up to leave and the cat, whose name was Jesse accord to the silver tag around his neck, looked utterly depressed as he watched us leave.

"Yoshino... Can we have a kitten?" I asked quickly, hoping she wouldn't realize what she was agreeing to.

"Absolutely not. I like animals, but they are troublesome to look after"

"What if I look after it myself?"

"No."

"But-"

"No, Kimi," she said firmly.

I looked away from Yoshino with a resigned scowl of disappointment on my face "Okay."

I felt such a connection with the cat, and it crossed my mind for a moment that maybe I had had pets in my past life, but if Yoshino said no then the answer was no. End of discussion.

I spent the rest of the day in my room, moving around my furniture and reorganizing things.

We bought a new desk of draws in which I kept my books and some pens, pencils, and paper in case I felt like doing something creative. Yuu had even bought me a diary and advised me to jot my thoughts down in there.

"You have a lot of things going on right now, especially with settling in and your memories coming back to you occasionally. Maybe you'll find offloading your thoughts onto paper helpful" she had suggested when handing me a purple leather-bound book of blank pages. I put the diary to one side, doubting that I would ever use it but it was a nice gesture.

I had also gotten a desk lamp, a mirror for the wall, a clock, a puffy pillow, new bed sheets, and blankets.

Yoshino had been to the furniture store and bought me a bed that was more like a raised platform, just off the ground in height and padded, so it was softer than the floor and slightly raised.

My last purchase had been a jewelry box where I only had a few hair clips stored for now.

After changing my mind several times and re-organizing everything to suit my tastes I stood back to admire my work. I felt like a clean freak, obsessed with everything being in its correct position, neat and tidy. There was much more to be added. It did feel a little more like home, like a place of my own now but there were still things to do.

I picked up a book from my desk and threw myself onto the bed with a satisfying bounce.


	7. A Helpful Soul

**_Chapter 7 – A Helpful Soul_**

 ** _* The Pendulum swings forward 7 months in time *_**

Over time I finally began to feel completely at home. Chores, jobs for the villagers and exploring kept me busy and these days I very rarely thought about getting my memories back. My blurry recollections came to me occasionally when I experienced something unusual or out of my routine. Some thoughts and memories felt out of place like they weren't my own or came from a long-forgotten dream though I tried not to let it bother me anymore. I did sometimes try to cross-examine them, or what I could make sense of them seeing as they were mostly a jumbled mess of fuzzy images, but as Granny Chie had advised I no longer let them eat away at my mind.

Seven and a half months had passed since I had arrived in Harumachi and today Yuu and I were out on a job not from a villager, but from Granny Chie herself. We didn't know why, but she had specifically asked the two of us to head up to the meadows and bring back the wood of the Royal Empress tree. She didn't give a reason but she made it quite clear that the wood must be in good condition, cut into large logs and not damaged. We knew better than to question the odd request as Granny could be quite stern at times and neither of us fancied a lecture, so we grabbed breakfast and headed out.

"You do realise that she probably won't pay us for this, right?" Yuu asked.

"Meh, probably not." I shrugged while securing my wood carrying box tighter over my shoulders. "She'll probably say I'm being paid in training experience, which is fair enough I guess but I won't say no to pocket money or lunch though," I smirked.

I had quite the savings account already, and I had stopped stuffing myself on cakes recently too after I decided that I needed to get fit. Even with all the walking and exercise I did, junk food did me no good but if someone gave it as a thank you, I couldn't say no. That would be rude. Or that's what I told myself anyway.

Yuu, being the more intelligent of the two us, had decided before leaving to borrow the physician's encyclopedia of nature to aid us in searching for the tree in question so we knew what to look for. It took me that long to notice that I was headed out clueless and gave me her usual eye-roll when she noticed my surprise.

"What were you going to do, pick any old stump and hope for the best? You're such a dummy sometimes" she giggled. But once we reached the meadow it was hard to not notice which tree it was as it was easily towered over everything else in the area and was completely unique it as if it had sprouted by magic in ancient times.

"Okay, we're here. This big one right in front." Yuu pointed out as we arrived, comparing it with the one in the book. It was far bigger than the first tree I had climbed back in the food orchard months ago, this one had to be at least eighty foot tall, with bright lilac flowers blooming all the way up as far as the eye could see.

I grinned and began stretching my legs in a warm-up. "Perfect, just what I need." I took off the wood carrying box and dropped it next to Yuu and tightened the tool belt around my waist.

"Be careful, last time you did this you lost your footing and-"

"Please don't remind me, that was humiliating. There's no one around to see me fall this time. Here I go,"

"I'll time you!"

I bounced up and down on the spot for a moment, crouched down low and then shot off in a burst of speed. Yuu watched as the pressure of my feet leaving the spot left a dust cloud and a small crater in the soft dirt.

Within seconds I was scrambling higher up the tree like a crazed monkey. First branch, tenth branch, thirtieth branch, fifty-foot, sixty foot. I glanced out my shoulder to see Yuu's little dark dot get smaller and smaller and then I broke the treetops.

I balanced steadily on a thin branch that protruded from the canopy and saw Yuu running further back so she could get a better view of my position. "And stop!" I shouted down to her.

"Twenty-four seconds!" She bellowed, bouncing up and down in applause.

"Told you I could do it!" I cheered back down to her delighted with my clear improvement, then said to myself quietly: "But its not enough. I can do better. I haven't spent nearly eight months running, climbing and training up this spiritual energy stuff for nothing. I need to get faster, I need to beat that Soul Reaper!"

I stood there for a moment, looking out at the landscape. The view from up here was breathtaking. I loved being high up, especially with how quiet it was up here. I could speak to myself without getting funny looks from people and though I hated to admit it, doing stuff like this made feel special because I was the only one in my village who could. This was my talent, what was coming to define me and in the silence of the usually unreachable points, I had time to gather my thoughts.

I closed my eyes, feeling the wind blow my hair around like long trailing ribbons. It felt like I was on top of the world, the highest person for miles around. But unfortunately, my peace was quickly broken.

"Kimiiiiii, Come back down!" Yuu called.

I sighed wanting to spend more time up here relaxing but alas, it wasn't to be. Not on that day at least.

"It was nice while it lasted I guess. Well, back to the job at hand I suppose." and I jumped back down the tree to the lower branches taking it easy not to fall on the way down. Going up was easy, going down was the hard part when gravity always seemed to hold a grudge against me for some reason.

Surprisingly I made it down without injury and chopped off a few large lower branches. Chie had asked specifically for large, whole pieces of wood so I couldn't really carry much.

We fastened the large logs to the carrying box tightly and made our way back at a steady pace.

Upon entering the village, I spotted a small crowd out of the corner of my eye and pulled Yuu over to see what all the fuss was about. In the middle of the crowd were two women, both a lot older than us, wearing black robes with swords sheathed neatly away at their waists.

They both looked somewhat bored at the situation like they were both used to this unwanted attention and would like nothing more than to leave the town immediately.

I didn't like that sort of Soul Reaper, the unkind and snobby ones. Most of them weren't very friendly but some were downright rude. I finally found a Soul Reaper in town after discovering my spiritual energy, they looked at me as though I was some sort of vile insect on their shoes and walked away from me.

At first, I was really upset and surprised but I quickly learned that some Soul Reapers had a superiority complex when around the Rukon Districts, as though everyone who wasn't a Soul Reaper was inferior. But I had learned my lesson. I now knew that the ones who stood around doing nothing and looking bored were the ones not to make conversation with, but the ones wandering around playing with the children and engaging with the villagers were fine.

I had spent a lot of time over these months reading in the local library and had unearthed a lot of interesting information. I read more about how the Soul Society was split into districts. Harumachi was actually listed in that book as one of the wealthiest, pleasant and in-demand villages to live in, ever-expanding due to popularity; which was true, I had noticed homes springing up all over the place and the village seemed to be moving outwards quickly.

I had also found out more about social ranks and families. Shockingly enough the Murasaki's were listed as a noble family under the branch family section, but they were low ranked. By branch family, it meant that they were a smaller, less important branch of one of the four noble families, which had dwindled through the bloodlines over a long period of time. Maybe that was the reason that some outsiders knew of the family, especially older people.

I had wondered about my family's connection to the nobles a few times but I couldn't get access to family trees at the local library.

 ** _I wonder what it's like to be a direct descendant of a noble family... not a small branch,_** I thought a while back when reading about the four great noble families and slightly lower-ranked noble families. **_The Kuchiki's and Shihoin's... They sound almost like royalty._** The book indeed depicted these two families to be very important, powerful, influential and to have very luxurious lifestyles.

A child's screaming cry brought me crashing back to reality. I whirled around to find the source of the commotion, and sure enough, the two Soul Reapers were sitting talking to each other completely ignoring the world around them.

"Who was that?" Yuu asked, looking anxiously for the voice too.

I froze, closed my eyes and focused. I wasn't sure if this was something to do with spirit energy, but when I meditated it sometimes felt like I could tune into one particular sense, and this time my left ear picked up the shrill squeals clearly.

"I'll be back in a minute, 'kay? Look after these for me would ya" and I dropped down the piles of wood I had been carrying on my back and ran off around the corner in the direction of the cry leave Yuu looking bewildered.

I stopped at the wooden bridge across Ryutaki river and glanced around. Next to the river were four teenage boys that I hadn't seen before holding a little girl by her ponytails above the river. They laughed cruelly as they took something from her and dropped her into the water with a splash.

I cursed and ran forward at them, grinding a halt and kicking the biggest one that had been holding her square in the back. He flew sideways along the dirt path and landed roughly with a thud a few feet away. His 'friends' rushed to his side to help him up and I took that moment to jump into the river and help the girl out.

It wasn't a strong current but the girl was no older than five in appearance, the water came up to my chest so there was no way she could have touched her feet to the bottom. She was flailing around like a fish on land.

"Calm down, I've got you!" I said reaching out. I waded back to the edge with the whaling girl on my shoulders, hopped out and placed her down on a low fence post that bordered the side of the bridge across the water.

"What did they take from you?" I asked kindly, ringing out my own shirt.

"M-my sweets a-a-and my money" she whimpered between violent sobs and hiccups. Suddenly I felt furious. I felt that rage boiling up in my chest again. I turned to them while they were still groveling on the ground.

"Do me a favour okay? Run home now and don't come back. Go tell your family what happened." The little girl nodded through body jerking sobs, hopped off the fence and ran back into town the way I add arrived.

"Bro? Bro, you gotta get up!"

"Don't let some girl hurt you, Bro!"

"C'mon Boss" the other three were saying to their fallen comrade, evidently the leader of their little gang. The boy got up off the ground and wiped the cut on his lip from where he landed.

"What low life scum would do such a thing to an innocent little girl, just for sweets and a bit of loose change?" There were a few meters between us. I stood my ground firmly with my fists clenched on my hips, demanding an answer.

The four didn't answer but just laughed wildly.

"I don't see the humour in this. Maybe you'd like to explain?" I said, completely calm and straight-faced.

"It's just funny," the leader piped up after he stopped snorting like a pig. "How a little girl like you has the guts to stand up to us!"

"Yeah, what can you do?!"

"You should just mind your own business!" the third and fourth chipped in.

"You'd be surprised what a 'little girl' like me can be capable of. I'm not gonna walk by and watch some overgrown snotbags like you bully a child."

They laughed again. "I'd like to see you stop us" the leader challenged.

"Try me."

And they didn't hesitate. The leader stepped forward first, sauntering over to me with a cocky swagger and picked me up by the collar of my shirt. "Not so tough now are y- OW-" Before he could finish I drew back my head and dropped the nut on the bridge of his nose, knocking him cleanly unconscious. Blood trickled down his face as he lay there like a hibernating bear, sound out.

I hadn't noticed how high up he held me and almost tripped as I landed but recovered cleanly. Not that they had paid any attention.

"Boss! No! Hey, wake up! Boss!" The others yelled, prodding, poking and shaking him.

"You little bitch! You'll regret that!" one of them said, whirling around to me.

I smirked as I rubbed the thumping spot where our foreheads had connected. The other three rushed forwards.

I landed a punch in the first one's stomach, winding him and making him splutter, he wobbled around holding his gut with both hands as I elbowed him in the side and out of my way.

The next one came running forward with his fist drawn back high. I ducked as he went to hit me, rose back up from the floor and held his arm firmly across my shoulder. I whirled around to the left a couple of times, dragging him along with me then released when I had picked up speed, sending him flying in the river bank head first.

The last one tried a sneak-attack but I knew he was coming; I had spotted him out of the corner of my eye but I was the perfect height to kick him where it hurts. I drew my right leg back and horse-kicked him in his lower regions with such force that he was sent back into the fence that the little girl had been watching from, making it crumple under his weight.

I stood ready for a moment, waiting for one of them to get back up and have another try, but one was unconscious and the other three were concentrating too much on their injuries to even look at me. I wandered over to the unconscious boss and took a hand full of small black coins and a bag of rainbow-drop sweets from his pocket.

"Hey, you-" the one in the water called as he surfaced, a thumping red mark on his head from where he hit the riverbank. I didn't answer but shot a sharp ice-cold glare at him. He recoiled as though my eyes had pierced him like knives.

"I suggest you pick up your friends and get out of here," I said forcefully as the second one helped up the guy I had kicked in the nuts.

"Who the hell are you? Are you a Soul Reaper?" he asked, still in shock.

"A Soul Reaper? Hardly. My name is Kimiko Murasaki, second Daughter of the leader of Harumachi. Don't forget it." I paused again as they seemed like they wanted to try again. I shot another glare their way just to be sure they got the message. "Need I repeat myself? Get out of here, NOW."

They rushed to pick up their unconscious boss, supporting him over their shoulders and rushed away over the bridge and out of the village without another word.

"And good riddance."

I sighed. My heart was pounding against my ribs like it was trying desperately to break free. I had really thought I was in trouble for a second, and if I'd have hesitated I surely would have been.

I couldn't help it, I was so angry and the anger made me challenge them without thinking.

Just then a man came running into view with the little girl clutching his hand struggling to keep up. She looked puzzled for a moment as if she were expecting the boys to still be there.

"They're gone, Daddy!"

The man gave a breath of relief and let go of her hand. "I had to come, when she told me boys were attacking you I was worried you would be hurt, Miss Murasaki"

I shook my head. "Nah, they couldn't put a finger on me. Don't worry they won't be coming back anytime soon." I walked over and crouched down dropping the coins and bag of sweets into the girl's hand. "There you go," I beamed kindly.

She gave a little gasp of delight and threw her arms around my neck. "Thank you so much, Miss Murasaki!"

"It was nothing at all. If you have problems with bullies again you know where to find me, right?" she nodded and finally smiled. "What's your name?"

"I'm Ami!"

"Well, Ami, you should go home with your Daddy and get dry. We don't want you to catch a cold, do we?" She nodded and held her father's hand again.

"Thank you, It's great to know we have someone like you looking out for us. If there's anything you need just ask." he bowed and headed out with his daughter.

I began to stroll off in the oposite direction a few moments later but stopped again when a slow, deliberate applause came from above me. I turned, waiting for more trouble but to my delight, I saw a familiar face. A tall man with raven hair and green eyes, wearing Soul Reaper robes with a badge wrapped around the top of his left arm and sheathed sword at his side stood on the roof of the house next to me, grinning broadly and clapping his hands.

"It's you!" I said pointing at him in surprise.

"Yep. Long-time no see, kid" he said jumping down from the roof and landing beside me. "Wanna get some coffee with me?"

"Umm, sure why not." And we walked together back into the town to the café that was next door to the bakery. I wasn't a fan of coffee so I ordered pineapple juice instead. The man scoffed and my choice. "Hey, don't judge me! So, how long were you watching for?" I asked, slightly embarrassed.

"I see you haven't learned to sense spiritual pressure yet. Though admittedly I was hiding it to see if you would sense me. I was there from the beginning, we arrived at the same time. I heard a scream and came to investigate but when I saw you I wanted to see what would happen."

"Aww gee thanks, I coulda got destroyed by those guys!"

He shook his head. "I doubt that they didn't know what hit em! You did well. You've improved a lot since the first time we met."

"You think so?" I blinked, not expecting such a compliment.

"Sure do. Last time you knew nothing about anything. My little bit of advice helped, did it?"

"Yeah! It helped a lot, I can control my spirit energy pretty well now."

"So I saw, you made those heavy hits by focusing your spiritual energy on one single point of contact. Very smart, I like your style."

"That's the only thing I can do... That was my first time fighting though. I've never even thrown a punch before... unless you count plumping up my pillow at night. I was relying completely on my spirit energy there. Other than that, I can run really fast if I send it to my feet."

"Well for seven months of practising without even being a Soul Reaper or having proper formal training that's quite an achievement, you should be proud of yourself."

I smiled happily. "Do you think I'm good enough to become a Soul Reaper yet?" He shook his head and I felt like dropping my head on the table in despair. "You had my hopes up for a second there!"

"There's a lot more to being a Soul Reaper than wearing a uniform and knowing how to control your spirit energy. You should keep on practising, especially on your combat skills and even swordsmanship if you get a chance. Keep trying and one day you'll get into the Soul Reaper academy; I promise you that"

I smiled again. "I'll try!"

We sat in silence for a moment and I remembered the first time we met.

It was a month or so after I arrived in Harumachi.

* * *

I had a distinct feeling that karma was out to get me. The Soul Reapers were everywhere when I didn't know who they were or what the hell they were doing here, but when I needed one they seemed like an extinct species.

Since Yuu had explained what spiritual energy was to the extent of her knowledge, I had been extremely eager to train but I didn't really know what to do or where to start. Trying to make myself glow like a light bulb was the only thing I could think of. So one morning I plucked up the courage to get my butt out of the manor and find a Soul Reaper, though of course, I couldn't find one anywhere. Eventually, I resigned to fate and made my way back home through the woods in a thoroughly bad mood.

"Hey, Kid. You shouldn't be walking around here on your own, did no one teach you that the woods are dangerous?" a voice called from fairly far behind me.

I whirled around to see an honest to goodness Soul Reaper. Karma had not cursed me after all.

"You're a Soul Reaper!" I shouted, pointing at him.

He raised an eyebrow "No shit, what gave it away?"

I shook my head realizing how stupid that sounded out loud.

"Can I ask you a favour?"

"I guess so, what do you need?"

"I want to become a Soul Reaper-"

"Whoa... not so fast kid, not just anyone can become a Soul Reaper. There's a bunch of things you need to have before you-"

"I have spiritual energy if that's what you're talking about," I cut in.

He lifted an eyebrow again, not believing me. "Walk with me kid, we can't stand here like fools all day" he walked past me with his arms resting behind his head like a pillow, thankfully heading in the same route to the village that I had been taking.

I skipped to keep up alongside his long legs. "I'm not lying, I do have spiritual energy!" and at the perfect moment, my belly gave a loud angry grumble as if to back up my argument.

He raised an eyebrow again. "Okay, so you're hungry? When did you last eat?"

"Last night, I kind of rushed out of the house without food because I was looking for a Soul Reaper to talk to, but you're the only one I've seen all day."

He nodded. "Figures. We'll grab something to eat in the village, I'm heading into Harumachi,"

"Me too, I live there. I was just gonna give up my search and head home."

"I guess I had good timing then." he smiled down at me.

We reached the village in silence, besides the angry noises coming from my belly, and stopped at the Café on the edge of town. I was delighted when the Soul Reaper came out of the café with a baguette and a carton of raspberry juice for me, though it didn't last long.

"Whoa, slow down kid. I know you're hungry but your gonna choke if you eat like that. I don't wanna be responsible for your death."

"Noe urries, I ont khoke" I mumbled through a full mouth. When I finished I saw that he had been watching me. I blushed, wondering if I had done something wrong. "...What's up?"

"I was trying to sense your spiritual pressure but it's faint. There, but faint. If you train more it will increase."

"Yeah that's the problem, I know I need to train but I don't know where to start, I don't really know anything about Soul Reapers either,"

"Well first let's start with what you do already know," he suggested, sitting back in his seat with his coffee.

"Well, I know that we have spiritual energy, and I know that people with spiritual energy are the only ones who get hungry, and I know I can make myself light up with a white aura... but apart from that I don't really understand anything else."

"Well, it's a start I guess. Spiritual energy is a power that is stored within a person, the way to find out if you have spiritual energy is usually by getting hungry but there are other ways,"

"I discovered it by accident. I fell from twenty feet up and nearly killed myself but my light broke my fall." I told him.

"That was your Spiritual Energy manifesting to protect you. It can be used for all sorts of things but the main uses are for combat, speed, and healing. Of course, you would need Soul Reaper training for that sort of stuff, but before that, you will need basic training just to increase your overall amount of spirit energy and learn to control it more, so that it doesn't leak and stuff."

I had an odd image of white fog leaking out of my body while walking down the street like steam from a bathtub. I shook my head to clear the image and he gave me a funny look.

"So, the basic beginners training would be...?"

"As you may know, most places in the Rukon are dangerous places to live so most kids use their spirit energy to protect themselves, learning to fight."

"I'm not much of a fighter, I'm not a violent person," I said uncomfortably.

The man rubbed his hands through his hair, thinking. "Unfortunately violence is part of the job. We have to fight. Though it's a problem for you because this area is relatively safe, you don't have anything to fight. Learning combat is essential if you want to become a Soul Reaper"

"I guess so…" I said fidgeting more.

He sighed. "Well, maybe you should train to just control it. Like making a sphere of energy in your hand and keeping it there for as long as possible, stuff like that."

"That sounds easy enough, I can already make myself glow so I can definitely do that" I paused for a while. "What about that speed that you mentioned? I like running."

"Oh that's simple enough too, you can just use your energy to run faster, jump higher and etc."

"I already thought I may be able to do that but I didn't know for sure so I haven't tried,"

"You should try anything you think of, even if you turn out to be wrong it was worth a try. You don't know if you don't try, ya know?"

"Right." I nodded.

He then agreed to show me how to run faster. He took me to an area just outside of town and showed me what to do. I then tried for myself a few times.

"This is difficult... I'll never run as fast as you, you were like a bolt of lightning!" I said panting. He didn't even break a sweat.

"Practise makes perfect kid, you can't be good at it instantly. Be persistent and you'll get it."

"I guess so. I want to become a Soul Reaper so I'll have to keep going no matter what,"

The man paused to think again. "Hey, didn't you say you don't really know anything about Soul Reapers? Why do you want to become one so badly?"

"It's a long story..."

"I've got all day." He smiled, sitting on the dusty ground with his legs crossed as though to finalize his decision.

"They saved me," I said simply. "Soul Reapers saved me from being devoured by a monster in the World of the Living when I was a ghost."

His eyes widened. "You were about to be eaten by a hollow, weren't you?" he asked quietly.

I just nodded, a tear sparkling in the corner of my eye. "I don't know how I died. I lost my memory when I got here you see, so I only know little snippets of things that have come back to me over the last month or so. I remember being chased by this massive monster with a white face, I was about to be eaten and three people came to save me... a man and two girls. All I have ever wanted since I remembered that was to thank them, give something back to them and help others like they helped me..."

He stared at me, and I looked right back into his eyes but right through him as the messy memories flowed in my mind.

He smiled, stood up and put a hand on my head, snapping me out of it. "Then that gives you even more reason to practice hard and become good enough to go to the academy."

"There's an academy? Wait, I remember my sister mentioning Soul Reaper school!"

"Damn straight there is. It teaches kids like you everything there is to know about being a Soul Reaper, and after you graduate you get into one of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and get a uniform like me. But you need to pass the entrance exams with some basic knowledge to actually qualify for Spiritual Education," he said tugging at his own collar proudly.

My mouth was gaping open. "I wanna join now! And I want a cool arm badge and a sword too!"

The man howled with laughter. "You kids are so impressionable. The badge is for more... advanced Soul Reapers, and you'll get a sword too soon after you enter the academy but these swords are way too complicated for me to explain to you at the moment, you'd never understand them."

"Iv got all day!" I mimicked, crossing my legs.

"Not today. If you train hard and we meet again some time then I'll explain it to you, I might even show you the secrets of our swords." he winked.

"Aww, you're leaving?" I whined. I had been really enjoying his company. He was by far the friendliest Soul Reaper I had ever met.

"I've got a job to do. I'm not supposed to be spending time chatting with kids like you." He stood up and turned to leave.

"If I get faster and strong by the time you come again, will you race me?" I asked him quickly.

"We'll see. Good luck kiddo! You hold on to that dream of yours, okay?" He told me before disappearing into thin air.

"So fast! Where did he-" I stared around, looking up into the air and all around me but he was nowhere to be seen. "I gotta learn how to do that!"

* * *

I gripped my glass of juice tightly, wanting to ask him something but hesitating, but the words spilt out without really thinking.

"Will you race with me?" I blurted out, then heard how childish that must sound out loud. I had an odd talent for making strange statements and making perfectly normal things sound stupid.

He blinked while sipping his coffee. "You wanna race me?"

I nodded quickly "Remember? You promised you would if I got stronger, I wanna see how fast I am compared to you now!"

He stared at me for a second and then downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp. "Challenge accepted Kid!"

"The name's Kimiko!"

"Right, Kimiko then. Where to?"

"Hmmm. Through the village, to the end of the road by the orchard and back here?"

"Sounds good to me, but don't be upset when you lose to me, 'kay?"

I smirked. I was confident in my abilities. I knew I was fast enough. We both got into a low crouching position. I felt like I would get further faster with a good push off. The Soul Reaper simply stood there with his arms raised slightly. "Reaaaddy... GO!"

We both shot off like an arrow from a bow, both at equal speeds easily keeping up with my raven-haired friend. Instead of dodging past villagers in the streets as I did, he jumped up on top of the buildings and ran across roofs. I looked up at him and saw that he was slightly ahead and was gaining an advantage.

He grinned down at me then seemingly disappeared by leaping forward. I almost ran into someone as I looked around for him.

"That's cheating! You're trying to throw me off course!"I called out, apologizing to the villager and moving on. Sure enough, when I reached the checkpoint at the orchard he was standing there impatiently tapping his foot.

"C'mon, You're not gonna win like that-"

"How the hell did you do that?"

"Win me and I'll tell you," he taunted.

"You're on!" again we took off to meet back where we started. _**Shortcut time!**_ I thought. I knew my way around the village with my eyes closed. We ran along the main road together and he went straight onwards into the town, but I took a right through side streets and over fences.

 ** _Left, right, forwards, jump over that house, left again, over the fence, almost there..._** the café was in sight, but he wasn't... I skidded to a halt outside and looked around.

"You took your time," came an amused voice from the shop door. He sat back down in his previous seat out the shop and sipped on his second coffee.

I was completely baffled. "How... I even took shortcuts! How did you do that!?"

"I told you I would tell you if you win, but you didn't, you've just got to try harder."

"How can I try harder if I don't know what to do? Please... Tell me so I can get better!" he looked up at me while still drinking. I glared at him in a pleading sort of way, I was determined for him to understand how badly I wanted this.

"I like your determination kid, persistence is the key to success. I guess I'll tell ya. _That_ was a flash step"

"Flash step? When you disappeared?"

"Yeah. Flash step as the name implies, is a large step taken at such speed that it looks like you appear and disappear in flashes as you land. They are just jumps, or steps that are taken very quickly, but they take some practice. You can feel a bit disorientated after them when you're new to it,"

I absorbed the information like a sponge and bowed to him gratefully. "Thank you, I promise I'll practice it and next time we meet I'll be faster than you!"

"Woah that's quite a statement kid, you sure you're up to it?"

"Of course I am! Pinkie?"

He smiled and held out his pinkie finger to mine. There was a shout from behind me as more black-robed men ran up to us. "Lieutenant! We've been looking for you everywhere, where were you?" he asked looking down at me.

"Just helping a friend of mine,"

"Sir, we don't have time to be playing with kids, we have a job to do."

"Yes yes, I know. I thought I was entitled to a break occasionally," he grumbled gulping down the last of his drink. He left the cup on the table and put a hand on my head, ruffling my hair slightly. "I wish you all the best kiddo, I look forward to seeing you graduate from the Soul Reaper academy if I don't see you before then." and he walked away, following the other men.

"Wait!" I called after him, he looked over his shoulder while walking. "What's your name?"

"The names Kaien, Kaien Shiba." and with that, he left.

"Kaien, huh?" I bowed low. I knew he wasn't looking at me but I felt completely in debt to him. He was a stranger, and yet even though we had only met twice his little bit of time and advice had helped me so much. "I'm grateful Kaien, thank you."


	8. Under the Cover of Darkness

_**Chapter 8 – Under the cover of Darkness**_

I tossed and turned for what felt like hours that night, and the next night, and the night after that. One minute I was staring at the ceiling as moonlit fell across my futon and the minute next the sun blinding rays were creeping into view.

I couldn't stop thinking about the things that had happened to me here so far no matter what sleeping method I tried.

One thing that kept my mind racing was that Soul Reaper, Kaien. It had now been a few days since he had vanished from the village for the second time and I wondered how long it would be before he returned. A few months again? A year? Longer perhaps?There were so many things that I wanted to ask when he was gone, but when he was with me I was put on the spot and couldn't think of them. And now here I was, struggling to sleep due to my clogged up brain.

 **You won't disappear so easily next time, Kaien!** I thought determinedly. He had promised to train with me and show me what was so special about those swords the Soul Reapers carry around, but again he had gone as quickly as he had appeared.

Finally, my eyes began to feel heavy with sleep and I felt as though I was drifting off into dreamland until a loud yell disturbed my rest from somewhere beyond the manor walls.

My brow twitched in annoyance as the yelling and loud talking continued. I buried my head underneath my pillow, but that only made it sound like a swarm of angry bees was buzzing around my room.

"Oh, for crying out loud" I whined loudly. "Just when I was finally tired!" I flew up out of my bed and stomped over to the door. Surprisingly, I found that there was no one outside of the room, but when I listened more carefully I released that the sound was coming from the road outside of the manor, which was conveniently only a few meters from my paper-thin walls.

Usually, the road was quiet, barely noticeable even. It was the road that Yuu and I took into the village and it was one of three ways to leave or enter by horse and carriage. I did occasionally hear the faint clip-clop of horse hoofs as travellers and tradesmen passed by which I didn't mind at all, but this ruckus was ridiculous.

A breeze of cold November air floated down my back, making me shiver so I retreated into the warmth of my room. The noise didn't quiet down at all so I decided to go investigate.

I splashed some water on my face, combed my hair back into a ponytail and threw on some clothes.

A long red woolly jumper that had been made for me by a villager but was far too big for me and reached to my thighs, thick black woolly tights, black pumps, and a black gloves and scarf set that once belonged to Yuu but I conveniently forgot to return them after borrowing them. Yuu seemed not to have noticed or cared so it was fine.

It seemed pointless to stay quiet when leaving my room as I usually would have this early in the morning. Anyone who heard the noise had no chance of sleeping through it.

My garden looked very different at this time of year. Usually, the ground and the little koi pond would be covered with cherry blossom petals, but now the bare branches were covered with frost and the pond was coated with a thin sheet of Ice. Frost also lay on the floor with patches of ice lying invisibly waiting for some unsuspecting victim to step on and break their neck.

The sun was only just beginning to rise. The sky was a pale orange in the east and dark everywhere else. Soon enough the sun would rise and make most of the ice melt away, part of my roof was bathing in the low light so I decided to run there where it would be less lethal.

I jumped from the roof onto the wall that divided the manor and the road and looked both ways for the source of the disturbance. Sure enough, just a few meters to the left past my bedroom was a large group of people huddled together.

I raised an eyebrow and ran along the wall to go and see what all the fuss was about, hopping down to join the back of the crowd just before the wall ended.

"What's going on here?" but my question was ignored. The mumbling was too loud for me to be heard from the back. I tried asking politely a few more times but eventually gave up and just barged my way through to the front.

I was at least a foot shorter than everyone else, and it was a good job I wasn't claustrophobic else I would be panicking right about now. I swam through the crowd, stepping on toes as I went.

"Excuse me, coming through, whoops sorry" I finally reached the front and fell out of the front line of people, bumping into someone and regaining my balance instead of falling flat on my face.

Looking up I saw that they were wearing black. **Crap, a Soul Reaper! No, four Soul Reapers!** I thought glancing between them. I didn't recognize any of them as regular patrollers.

"What the hell kid! Get back in line!" the man I had stumbled into shouted. His comrades who were spread out in a line across the road glared at me disgustedly.

"Tsk. I _was_ going to apologize but I changed my mind." I retorted, straightening up. "What the hell is going on here?" I demanded again.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Bumping into me and asking questions" he shouted. This guy seemed like he was already aggravated, probably by all of these villagers, and he was ready for an argument.

"I'm Kimiko Murasaki! You wanna fight over this? Are you really that stupid? It was an accident and I want to know why all of these people woke me up so early. Is that a difficult thing to answer?" I was getting aggravated too now, my temper seemed short since those boys had given me trouble.

"Kimi-" came a blunt voice from above me.

"What?" I snapped back and whirled around to face them, ready for more trouble. But to my surprise, it was Shinsetsu, though he wasn't wearing his usual grin.

"Let me take this from here."

"I- Oh.. Right... I'm sorry, I was just..." I stuttered under my breath, at first trying to justify myself but he just moved me aside gently with his and stepped forward.

"I'm Shinsetsu Murasaki, leader of this village and Kimiko's father. I too would like to know what is going on here, why are you blocking this route?" he didn't shout at the Soul Reaper but I would have preferred it if he did. This calm but cold manner was different from what I was used to. His bubbly and kind personality seemed to have vanished. I was more scared by that than the prospect of fighting an armed Soul Reaper while unarmed.

The man stuttered for a moment and then regained a professional manner. He spoke as if reciting his words for the hundredth time: "The surrounding routes in and out of all villages in districts one to seven are closed until further notice, no citizens are to leave the village under any circumstances, anyone who is found trying to leave or are found outside of the perimeters will be arrested and taken into the custody of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."

There was an even louder mumbling from the crowd, some groans, some yells of anger.

"You can't do that to us!"

"We have crops and animals to care for out there!"

"I need to go to the other villages to buy materials!"

I couldn't agree more. I had worked for most of these people and knew full well how much this village relied on the surrounding areas for fields, farms, orchards, and markets. They couldn't survive without them. Maybe for one day, sure, but for too long... not a chance.

"Why did you not consult the leader of the village before doing this? I should know about everything that happens in my village even if it is a matter of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. I should at least be informed first."

Again, the man showed signs of losing his composure. He wasn't prepared for this. "We are just following orders. This is a _private_ matter of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and therefore there is no need to disclose information to anyone outside of the Seireitei. We have been commanded to block off the routes in and out of all villages in this area. No one is to know the details."

"I disagree. I thought it was common courtesy to inform a village leader if you are doing something in his town. Not to ask for permission, but at least to keep me informed so I can help if assist where possible and make sure my people are safe. This is my village and I want to know why my people's daily lives are being disrupted by Soul Reapers. Would you please come to my office and explain in privacy?"

The crowd was silent now. Their glares were fixed on this one man who was now an involuntary spokesman for the Soul Reapers. His colleagues looked at him just as unsure as he was, then he nodded.

"Fine. But if I get in trouble you will be held responsible."

"Very well." Shin smiled kindly, his usual personality seemed to be shining back through, though it was probably faked. "Follow me if you will."

The man stepped forward from his line and the other Soul Reapers closed the gap, resuming to block the path. I watched as the two of them walked past me, the crowd parting to let them pass through. Shinsetsu paused for a moment.

"I'd like for everyone to return to your homes for the moment. As soon as this situation is resolved, or we come to an agreement I will send news to the village, I promise" and then he continued. The villagers gawped at him angrily, but he held his head up high and continued.

I felt slightly sorry for the Soul Reaper, after all, he was only following the orders of his superiors which he probably wasn't allowed to question. He wasn't the one calling the shots. He looked a little bit ashamed as he passed the glaring faces.

I jogged to catch up with them both, soon having to skip and hop to keep up with their long strides.

"Is this about what I think it is?" Shin was asking the man under his breath.

"There's only one thing it can be about," the man replied. He was about to elaborate when Shin put a hand on his shoulder.

"Not here, wait until we are in my office"

"So, what's happening out there? Another robbery or something? A Murder?" I asked curiously, almost conversationally.

The man was about to answer when Shin interrupted. "Please don't interfere Kimiko."

 _ **What the... He always gives me a pet name...**_ I thought in surprise. It was always _**Kimi, Kimzo, Kimkim, Kiki or something equally ridiculous but that was just Shin's playful nature and I didn't mind it at all. For him not to do it I knew the matter was serious.**_ _"_ Why can't I ask questions? What's wrong with knowing things? You're the one who always encourages me to investigate!"

Shin flinched as if wish he hadn't encouraged my curiosity until now. "This is a private matter between me and the thirteen court guard squads. Private means no one else is to know"

 _ **Translation: I'm hiding something from you, go away.**_ I thought."But Shin! I might be able to help... I'm not training to become a Soul Reaper for nothing. One day I'll be doing this kind of job the same as these guys"

"And until then you should mind your own business" he snapped finally losing his temper. He had never once spoken to me like that, ever. He didn't apologize but carried on walking leaving to stand there feeling shocked and hurt.

When entering the manor, he paused and shook his head, thinking to himself but not voicing it.

"Kimi... please go and wake your sister and tell her the news. She was due to go out of the village on a job today, she should know early."

 **Translation: I'm trying to get rid of you, go away.**

I glared at him, not bothering to hide the fact that I was mad. "Fine." I turned on my heel and walked in the opposite direction.

 **Convenient how Yuu's room is the opposite side of the manor. You won't be going to your office now, will you Shin?** I wondered to myself. I continued walking and gritted my teeth and fists, making a split-second decision. **I'm not standing for this any longer. They've been hiding something from me ever since I arrived here, I want to know the truth!**

I knew they were watching me walk out of sight, I picked up speed and stormed around the corner.

I hid there for a moment but heard footsteps approaching, sure enough, Shin came to see if I was gone. I leapt up onto the roof and out of sight silently just before his head popped around the corner.

He seemed to have decided that I had indeed run to Yuu's room. He sighed and returned to the Soul Reaper man who was waiting where I had left them.

I lay low on the roof, still able to hear them without them spotting me.

"My apologies for that. Kimiko is the last person on earth I would want to hear this. I know she is mad at me so she will probably avoid me for a while, but just as a precaution we will go to a different office." he continued walking, but not in the direction of his own office.

 _ **I knew it! I knew I wasn't imagining it! He's going somewhere else to throw me off.**_

They reached another room, Yoshino's office. Shin slid the door open and allowed the Soul Reaper to enter first. He paused to scan around the yard before entering. I re-emerged into sight once the door had closed and sprinted to the roof above them. I lay down and hung my head over the edge of the roof. I could hear them as though I was in the room with them.

The Soul Reaper let out a deep, troubled sigh. "So, you know what's been happening over these past few months?"

"Not exactly but rumours spread fast, we have a vague idea but don't know the details," Shin replied. "I'm disappointed that something terrible has been happening on our doorstep and the guard squads have had the nerve to invade our village every day but say nothing about the situation. We don't know what is happening, where or why. We know we are in danger but we have been offered no protection"

This made sense. That explained why Soul Reapers were always lurking in the area, but it had been that way since I arrived so I assumed it was normal.

The Reaper sighed again. "I might as well put your mind at rest then, or maybe not at rest but at least keep you informed. I won't get in trouble for that if rumours are already flying around." he paused again, seemly taking a drink of something. Shin did usually offer guests snacks and drinks.

"Over these past months, there have been a series of strange... disappearances, for lack of a better word. I guess they could also be called attacks or deaths. At first, the Soul Society thought it was nothing serious, just a coincidence that several people had died in the same area and in the same way in quick succession, but over the months they have become more frequent."

My eyes widened. **Deaths? Attacks?**

"You say attacks, deaths or disappearances, why are you unsure?" Shin asked.

"Because the only reason we know about this is that people have been reported missing and their clothes have been found discarded soon after. A few days ago there were more reports and we decided to go and investigate properly to resolve the problem before it gets out of hand and spreads. We were shocked by what we found,"

I listened in even harder, not wanting to miss a single word of this.

"The clothes we found were indeed discarded on the ground, but as though they were still being worn. The owners had not removed them because their shirts were still buttoned, belts tied, socks inside shoes... It was as though they had just disintegrated..."

"Then that means they died, correct?"

"No, not correct. Everything in the Soul Society is made of Reishi, particles of Spirit Energy that combine to create everything from the trees to the animals, to the food to our bodies. When something dies or is destroyed it returns to its Reishi state and becomes part of the Soul Society; If a person dies they turn to Reishi, but so do their items of clothing. It is not known why this happens, perhaps because the clothing is in contact with the dying body. The only exception to the rule is when a Soul that is comprised of an immense amount of energy dies, like a trained Soul Reapers. It takes far longer for their bodies to decompose due to the density of Reishi. As these missing people were merely average souls with a low Reishi density, they would have died taking their clothing with them. There would be no evidence left behind... And we have no missing Soul Reaper report, especially not ones who wear Rukon clothing."

I lay there in staring down over the edge of the roof at the wooden floor outside of the room in horror. I remembered one of the very first questions I had asked Yoshino and Shin when I had first woken: "What will happen to me if I die here?"

And now I knew. I would simply cease to exist, disappear into nothingness as if I had never existed in the first place.

I felt physically sick but the men continued to talk and I continued to listen in.

"I see your point, that is odd. So, they didn't die, and they didn't undress and run away naked... so, what happened to them?" Shin asked baffled.

"We don't know. The reason we have blocked off the villages is to keep all citizens contained while an advanced unit and a squad conduct an investigation. They are out on the field looking for clues as we speak, the villagers being safe in their homes makes things easier for those teams and people needn't stumble upon anything they shouldn't witness, and for their safety of course. Anyone found outside of a village will be taken in as a suspect."

Shin sighed. "And where is this operation taking place?"

"In Fugai of District Five. It's only a few miles from here but villagers of Harumachi visit there regularly so you were at the top of our lockdown list."

Kimi almost gasped aloud. **Fugai? I was there only two days ago with Yuu! So close to home this whole time...**

"You should have just come to see me in the first place, we could have avoided all of this fuss. I will of course co-operate and make sure that the villagers stay at home, but in return, I hope that you will do whatever you can to make this operation go as quickly and quietly as possible. The longer it takes the more anger and frustration there will be, and that will only cause more trouble."

"There's not much I can personally do, Sir. I've been put on guard duty, but if there is any information myself or my colleagues find we will let you know."

"Thank you. Now let us leave and inform the villagers of our decision. Expect a small riot." Shin chuckled. They opened the door and left down the corridor towards the main road again.

I watched on in silence as anger rose up inside of me like boiling water.

This whole time I had thought that this life was too good to be true... like it was just one big, amazingly realistic dream. But it was more like a nightmare. I was nothing more than particles of spiritual energy that could vaporize into thin air at any moment meaning that no one would ever know what had happened to me if they didn't see it with their own eyes and this knowledge had been kept from me all this time. There would be no body, no burial, no grave, just void.

I stared off into the distances, as though watching something that wasn't actually there.

 _ **Shin... how could you do this... you've known for so long and yet you don't care? You know that people are dying and in danger and yet you've kept up this lie for so long, smiling and laughing as though the bigger picture isn't happening on your doorstep. Do you not have a conscience? How can you act so care-free? People may be in their homes but that doesn't stop a murderer from entering the village...**_

I was actually shaking now. Panic, fear, and realization were rising in my chest.

 _ **There have been so many opportunities, so many times where I could have been killed or seriously injured... I could have just disappeared on the spot. So many times we have been alone out in the meadows or the woods, or the roads between villages... Fugai... I was at Fugai recently...**_

A tear ran down my face.

 _ **I thought this life was too perfect to be true! I knew that there was nowhere in the world that could be so peaceful and have no disadvantages, I've been walking around blindfolded, completely unaware that at any moment I could disappear from this world without a trace.**_

 _ **Learning that I had died had been a real shock and woking up in the mythical afterlife had been wonderful... but where does one go after the afterlife...**_

 _ **Does Yuu know? Is Yuu aware that she has been in danger? Does she know what would happen to her if she "Died"? Does that not scare her? ... Yuu was keeping something from me as well... Of course, she knew! She was the same as Shin, stopping me from asking questions or changing the subject every time I came close to asking.**_

I began to sob _._ _ **If they really did care about me as a daughter then they would have told me, prepared me, so that I knew and had a chance of protecting myself, protecting Yuu as well... Maybe they did it on purpose. Maybe they want me dead...maybe they don't care!**_

 _ **If they cared they would have told me so I could protect myself!**_

I got up, shaking badly and ran over the roofs in the direction of my room.

 _ **Enough is enough! If they don't care then I don't know why they pretended for so long, but I'm out of here. If the Soul Reapers don't want to get their asses out there and do more to save people then I'll do it for them, I haven't been training for nothing.**_

I ran into my room and slammed the door shut, pacing around restlessly. I kept attempting to settle down or sleep but had to keep moving. Running my hands through my hair, looking out of my door, moving around the room constantly.

I dreaded facing any of my family at the moment, I would probably lose my temper and rage at them and despite them lying to me like this I was grateful for them giving me a roof to sleep under, so I didn't want to cause trouble.

If I was going to leave I was going to do it in the dead of night, without a trace, disappearing into thin air as they had probably planned for me.

 _ **I need my own plan. I need to find a way to escape here without being caught and then make my way to Fugai without being seen.**_

I picked up a pen and some paper out of my desk and sat there, formulating my ideas onto paper. This made me calm down slightly, it gave me something to focus on and vent my anger. I needed to get this right.

I finished making my plan and editing it several times then lay back on my bed, reviewing it in my mind over and over like a mantra that built my resolve.

My belly gave an unexpected yowl.

 _ **"Ugh I haven't eaten yet and no chance am I going to go and make food, that would mean bumping into people."**_

I checked my clock. It was only half-past eight... _**Still around seven hours till sunset... seven hours of waiting. I'm not going to get away with not speaking to anyone for long. I'll lie here and pretend to sleep.**_

I had been exactly right. At about ten Yuu knocked on my door. Luckily enough I was already lying in bed, so I rolled over towards the wall and pretended to sleep. Yuu entered quietly but left when she realised that I was asleep.

She came back again at a few hours later, knocked again and entered after a moment. I was still lying there, deep in thought.

"Kimi?" Yuu asked quietly.

"Uhm?"

"Do you not want food? You haven't eaten yet"

"I'm not hungry," I said bluntly, hoping that my belly wouldn't betray me.

"Aww c'mon, you're always hungry!" Yuu giggled. "I know we can't leave here but you can't sleep all day, why don't you get up, I can help you train in the yard if you like?"

"I-I don't want to today, not feeling well," I said thinking of a lame excuse on the spot, still not turning to face her.

"But It's so boring around here, please get up, we can find something to-"

"No Yuu, I don't want to." I snapped back. Yuu fell silent.

"Ok. I'm sorry for disturbing you. Maybe I'll see you at dinner if you feel better, it's at six as usual," and she left, closing the door behind her.

 _ **I'll be long gone before six, Yuu.**_

I didn't care that I had snapped at her. It was about time that I lost my temper with these people. I was leaving anyway; It would be easier to walk away on bad terms.

* * *

I fell asleep, and before I knew it nightfall came. A lantern being lit somewhere in the courtyard woke me up. I stretched and got up out of bed.

I put on my shoes replaced my red jumper with an identical black one. I also wore a black woolly hat with my hair tied into a bun underneath it and wrapped a dark scarf around my face like a mask. Now the visible skin was my pale cheeks and eyes, but that couldn't be helped.

I checked myself over in the mirror and knew instantly that it would be almost impossible to see me in this outfit as long as I stayed in the shadows.

I walked over to the light and took one last look at the room. Considering I had only been here about seven months and the room wasn't exactly crowded with belongings, but it felt like home and I would miss the place. Even if I had any way of carrying things I couldn't think of anything I wanted to take with me, it would be better to travel light for speed anyway.

A tear welled up in the corner of my eye as I turned the light off. "Goodbye room." I smiled and slipped out closing the door behind me gently.

I rushed around the corner of the building and into the shadows, away from the lantern light before anyone could spot me.

"Whoa," I muttered as I stumbled into pitch blackness and suddenly felt blind. I leaned back against a wall for a few moments to allow my eyes to adjust before continuing.

I came to the end of an alleyway between the wall surrounding the manor and one of the buildings. Just ahead of me to the left was a small gate that led to a path around the outside of the manor wall and out onto the main road, but the last thing I wanted to do was go near the road. I would probably walk right into a Soul Reaper guard if I did and that would mean being caught and punished.

I could see through the gate's iron bars that the path was bathed in the golden light of a hanging lantern, which probably meant that someone had recently patrolled that area.

I gulped, rushed forward and lay flat against the wall next to the gate, checked down the path and saw no one, then quickly leapt up and over the wall rather than opening the creaky iron gate, and ran into the dense forest next to the path.

Seconds later, a black-robed woman strolled around the corner and peered down the path as if searching for someone. I dropped to the floor and lay low under the bushes, my heart mimicking my movements and dropping into my stomach.

 _ **Did she see me?**_ I thought wincing.

Though it seemed to have been a coincidence. The woman stared around, gripping the handle of the sword at her waist tightly. She didn't speak, just looked around and then seemed to decide she was imagining things, turning around and heading back onto the main road.

I sighed in relief and rose into a crouching position.

 _ **The road to Fugai is to the east at the other side of the village, so I need to pass through or around the village and follow the main road out to the other end... My plan seemed fine in theory but now... I'm not so sure.**_

I quickly made my decision and set off again. I sprinted as quickly and light-footed as I could along the back manor wall, making my way into the village but keeping to the shadows. I ran into an alleyway between two houses and peered into the village centre. Sure enough, as I had guessed, it was crowded with Soul Reapers, all spread out around the town, standing silently as if waiting for something to happen. I retreated into the shadows and continued to run behind the houses.

I soon came to the little bridge over the river where I had saved little Ami from the bullies last week and paused to smile at the place. I vividly remembered how I felt at that moment, how rage boiled up inside of me and the odd thrill that hitting someone for the first time had given me... Was that a bad feeling? Was that wrong or was it normal?

I smirked and then realized I wasn't hidden. I was being careless and could quite easily have been spotted there. I leapt up into a high tree above the river and jumped from branch to branch in the direction of the main road.

I saw the road in the distance through the trees, faintly lit by lanterns which were probably held by Soul Reapers.

 _ **I'll follow the path but from up here, I'll be seen by the group-**_ I let out a sudden loud high pitched yelp as my foot got caught on a twisted branch and I plummeted towards the ground. My lapse of concentration had caused me to miss place my foot and fall from the tree.

I hit the ground with a resounding thud and another yelp, which seemed to have alerted the Reapers to my presence.

I heard them in the distance and pulled myself up from the floor.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, I'm sure I heard a scream"

"I think it was this way, come on let's check it out!"

"Crap!" I cursed, wincing in pain at the sharp twinge in my hip but taking off running without pause. "I need to get out of here or I'll be found!"

"Over there! Movement at one o'clock!" a young man shouted, more people were approaching having heard the racket as well.

"Craaap, crapcrapcrap!" I ignored the pain and practically threw myself into a panicked sprint.

They were slowly gaining on me, I kept turning to look at them, seeing glints of shiny metal in the moonlight... Unsheathed swords.

I knew now that I was literally running for my life, weaving in and out of trees, jumping between high and low branches.

It suddenly occurred to me that technically I was nothing more than a collection of spirit particles that had formed into a body. _**Doesn't that basically mean I AM my energy?!**_

In a desperate attempt to run faster I began to send my spiritual energy around my body but particularly focusing at my feet, using more and more of it with every single footstep and bend of my knee. Just as Kaien explained, this made the point of impact stronger, so that I was now launching into the air with every single frantic step.

I sped up for the second time but regretted it. I hadn't realized how far I had run in just a few minutes but I was now approaching the waterfall and basin at the edge of the district where Yuu had brought me in the spring.

I was running far too fast now to stop or change course, all I could do was hope that I could clear the huge leap across the basin to the other side of the forest.

I clenched my fist, closed my eyes for a moment, bent my knees into a crouch for a split millisecond and launched high into the air far above the shimmering water.

The Soul Reapers crashed to a halt at the edge of the trees and stared on almost in awe as I cleared the gap and landed safely on a high tree branch at the other side.

I had opened my eyes as I felt myself reach the full height of my jump and saw the approaching branch, landing neatly on it and continuing to run. I checked back behind me and saw that the Reapers had stopped following and saw them spread out onto separate far branches at the riverbank, watching my back as I left.

I continued to run, feeling myself launch a few meters with every step.

"Flash Step!" I suddenly shouted. "It's just as Kaien said!" I grinned and laughed ecstatically as I realized I had achieved my goal.

"I did it... I DID IT!"

This was another strange feeling, this time of excitement and adrenaline. The excitement of running for my life and winning the race, the soft moonlight shining down on me, the bitterly freezing winter wind biting at my bare face, It was exhilarating. I had never felt like this in my life but I knew that this was what I longed for. This freedom.

"Bring it on, Kaien! If I can win them I can win you too!" I cheered, feeling more confident in my own abilities than ever before.

In no time at all, I had reached the top of the highest hill in the district. I walked along a cliffside that overlooked the town at a distance and peered down.

Lights were flickering into existence all over the place. It seemed that Reapers had sounded the alarm and people were being woken by my escape. No doubt news would be spreading around the village any moment now and they would be caring out spot checks to figure out who was missing. But even when they did notice my disappearance, the chances of them finding me now were slim. I was far out of town and even if someone spotted me they didn't stand a chance at catching me.

I jumped up into a tree and sat against the trunk to catch my breath.

I smiled as I managed to make out a few of the buildings in the village.

There was the manor blazing with lights just outside the village on its own, and there was the tailor's shop next to the fountain, next door would be the physician's clinic and there was what looked like… "Uh... The bakery... I should have grabbed some food before leaving, I'm starving..." I mouthed as my belly gave a loud, unhappy rumble.

My smile disappeared. I would miss this village and its lifestyle. I would miss my family, the jobs I went on to earn money, the amazing food, the time I spent with my adopted Sister... The memories I had made there. I would cherish those memories forever even after their deception.

"So much has happened over these months, I've left behind a life I don't remember and began to live a new one... I'm so grateful to everyone in the village... But I don't know if this was a lie or part of a bigger picture... Maybe I'm thinking too much into it but If it wasn't part of a bigger plan why would you hide it from me?... I don't want to live my life not knowing and I don't want to be in danger... I would rather die to try to protect you people... There's no going back now, there's no room for regret, I have to go" I told the air, then I stood up and turned away from the home that I had learned to love.

* * *

22/08/19 A/N: Good god… I am so sorry to all of the people who had to suffer the horrendous grammar and missed third person mistakes in this chapter. I can imagine that many would have gotten fed up and left, so thank you to those who did stick around. And thankyou to 's robot reader in the app that I found to be an amazing proof reader!  
On with the show!


	9. The Silent Witness

**Chapter 9 - The Silent Witness**

Yuu fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. She had no appetite and couldn't focus. Her mind kept wan

dering away, thinking about what was happening outside of the village and worrying about the moody little sister who was shockingly still sleeping in her bedroom just around the corner.

She sighed and put down the chicken wing she was about to pretend to nibble.

"I'm going to go and check on Kimi, it's not like her to miss dinner. Please excuse me." Her father nodded and allowed her to leave.

Kimi's light was off which meant that she was definitely still sleeping. Yuu rapped the wooden frame of the door lightly with her knuckles. "Kimi? Are you ok in there?"

No answer.

"Can I come in?"

No answer. Yuu frowned. It wasn't like her to plainly ignore people either. She slid the door open slightly and poked her head in. To her surprise the room was empty.

"What the- Kimi?" No reply. "She must be in the bathroom"

She knocked on the bathroom door and called again but had no reply. The door wasn't locked either, she could walk straight into the dark, empty bathroom. By the time she had checked the closet, she was panicking.

"Kimi? Come out now, stop playing games, This isn't funny!" Yuu ran outside and scanned the courtyard. She wasn't sitting up in the cherry blossom tree as she often did when she wanted to be left alone, nor was she sleeping on the roof watching the stars, as she did when the sky was clear at night. "KIMI!?" Yuu yelled out.

She ran back to the dining room and crashed into the room. "Kimi's gone! She's not in her room or in her garden, I can't find her!" She panted.

Shin slammed his cutlery down and stood up. "You're sure she's gone? Have you checked the rest of the manor?"

"No, only her private quarters. She doesn't often visit the rest of the house"

"Check anyway, Yoshino and Chie help too, we must find her." They all left the room and split up to search, Yoshino heading off towards her office at the back right of the manor in a rush, Chie bustled away to the kitchen muttering under her breath about insolent kids, and Shin joined Yuu at the front leftwing where Kimi's room was. He too found nothing.

"Where on earth has that girl disappeared to? She wouldn't have-"

"Left the village?" Yuu offered. "I think she would Dad..." she paused. "What if she gets hurt... or attacked. Dad we've got to find her!" now Yuu was more stressed-out than ever, tears welling up in her eyes and her voice cracking.

"Why would she leave; She was told, _specifically_ told, to stay put-" his eyes widened for a moment as he realized something. "Yuu, did she wake you up this morning? Did she tell you about having to stay at home?"

Yuu tilted her head in confusion. "No, Mom woke me up... She told me about it and said that you were the one who told her..."

Shin cursed loudly. "I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted her to go off on her own! I bet she followed me!"

"Dad! Calm down! What happened?" Yuu demanded as her usually calm father stormed off back into the house furiously. "DAD!?"

"Kimi must have overheard me discussing the situation with one of the Soul Reapers this morning. I'm betting she heard everything that we've been trying to keep from her. Damn it!" he explained as they pulled thick winter coats on and ran back out into the front courtyard. "We need to find the Soul Reapers and explain before they find her-"

Suddenly a gaggle of Soul Reapers came running into the courtyard.

"Sir! We have news!" said the male Soul Reaper from this morning.

"What is it? Has something happened? We have a problem; I was just coming to find you" Shin demanded.

"Yes, someone was spotted trying to leave the village" one man began.

"We found them and pursued them but they got away, they were far too fast for us to keep up with..." another woman piped up from the middle of the group.

"There no chance that a normal villager could run that fast, it has to have been a Soul Reaper-" a younger woman added to her friend sounding confused.

"Or someone who is training to be a Soul Reaper..." Yuu interrupted, shooting a dark and meaningful look at her father.

"Kimiko!" Shin shouted. "Why can she not just follow orders like a normal kid! All of this time I was trying to protect her... And I just made things worse!"

"Kimiko?" The first man asked. "The girl from this morning?"

"Yes, my youngest daughter. She is missing from her room, we've been searching the manor for her but I'm certain that she has run away..."

"Now that you mention it we spotted the person because they screamed, and the scream sounded very feminine. They also looked very small and agile from what we could tell when chasing them," a woman at the back of the group pointed out.

Yuu ran forward. "If she screamed then she must be hurt! Please, you have to find her! You have to help her!" Yuu pleaded with them. "I know we weren't supposed to leave the village, but please just find her and bring her home! I'm sure she has a perfectly good reason for this-"

"Silence, Yuu!" Shinsetsu yelled, rubbing his aching temples. "There is no excuse for her leaving, we specifically laid out rules that no one under any circumstances is to leave the village for their safety and she disobeyed that," he paused to think again, his voice calming now. "Please try to find her and bring her home safely, I will deal with an appropriate punishment when she is back."

The Soul Reapers nodded in agreement and the family began to give any details of Kimi's habits, physical appearance, and abilities that they could think of.

* * *

Over in the next district, I was more concentrated on looking for signs of a disturbance while en route to Fugai. I tried not to think about my family and how they might react when they found me missing.

I had long since passed all of the points of interest in the area and was definitely over the border and well into district four by now. It usually took about thirty minutes to get to the waterfall at a steady pace on foot and I had made it past there in less than ten minutes while sprinting.

As I travelled I ran over my plan in my mind, though it was very vague and it would probably end up changing as marched onwards.

 _First I'll make my way to Fugai and explore the surrounding areas. If I don't find anything I'll camp out until I do find something or hear any news. After that... I guess I'll try to enrol at the academy or try to find a place to live_ I thought, the prospect cheering me up a little.

Again I felt a twinge of sadness as I remembered what I was leaving behind. The comfort of my own bed, tasty breakfast's and hot dinners, fun memories.

 _Maybe if I fix this mess and come out alive I can go back there as a hero!_ I smiled to myself optimistically, knowing how naïve that idea was. People would be grateful to me if I solved a problem as huge as this. I easily could end up being the hero of my village and I would be welcomed back with open arms.

I checked the main town of Fugai and saw that it too was riddled with Soul Reapers that were standing guard, so it wouldn't be safe for me to enter the town or rest nearby. If they found me I would be in deep trouble.

I decided to go a fair distance out of the town and find a hollowed-out tree to rest in for the night and continue in the morning. The last thing I needed was to get lost in a dense forest, so I followed a large open dirt road lined by trees.

I ran for a while, scanning the undergrowth when I heard footsteps fast approaching. I stopped and kneeled to watch a young Soul Reaper girl, who couldn't be any older than me in appearance, running along the road alone carrying her sword and a bag on her back.

 _What the hell is a kid doing out here alone- Wait, I'd be a hypocrite to ask that question_ I thought, mentally facepalming. _Wait! She's a Soul Reaper who isn't guarding a village, and she's running in the area that the incident took place... Maybe she is running to the scene of the crime!_

I stood up and began to tail her silently at a safe distance, try not to lose sight of her.

Without warning the girl slowed down and came to a stop in the middle of the road, I mimicked her and looked in the direction she was now facing.

A few meters from of her shone bright red eyes, glinting like orbs of light.

"What the hell!" I whispered to myself loudly, but the girl was now too intent on running away to have heard me.

I gulped, wondering what the hell that thing was but I was certain that it was now chasing the girl. I switched to the forest on the other side of the road with a flash step. No chance in hell was I gonna go near that thing. It had vanished and could be anywhere now.

I continued to follow the girl who looked as though she was already in a hurry to get somewhere, but was now in a panic as this mysterious _thing_ followed her.

The creature moved swiftly out of the forest, heading right for the girl. The moon was currently behind dense clouds so Blondie was in darkness and the creature was a mere silhouette, though it was enough for me to see it dive down on her with its monstrous hand outstretched. I gasped but the girl dodged it and continued running.

The creature continuously attacked her, diving down and smashing rocks and trees with its sheer strength on impact.

"Why hasn't she drawn her sword and attacked it already!" I demanded out loud, fearing for the girl's life even though I didn't know her.

The road finally widened out into a huge and open clearing. The monster made one more dive at the girl, this time she only just avoided it. Its hand pounded into the ground where she had been milliseconds before, she jumped aside and skidded backwards to face it.

The thing had hit the earth so hard that it shattered and spike shot erupted from the dirt.

The girl stared directly into the creature's gleaming red eyes for a moment, as if frantically trying to think of a plan, but it launched forward in an attack again.

Out of nowhere came another silhouette. It blocked the creature with a sword and landed in front of the girl to protect her. The moon reappeared from behind the clouds to show a tall man...

 _Wait... Is that a guy or a girl?_ I wondered, confused by their long, flowing mane of straight dirty-blonde hair. They had their back to me so I could only see the person's hair, white coat, and sword.

"Shinji!" the girl exclaimed, relaxing a little behind the new person.

"Why ain'tcha drew your Zanpakuto yet, huh?" came a snappy male voice in reply.

 _Oh, so he is a guy! And what does he mean by Zanpakuto? Does he mean the swords?_ I listened in more, resting low in the bushes so none of them would see me.

"As if I could..." the girl muttered, looking away from Shinji, a saddened expression on her face.

He looked as though he was about to ask what she meant but the moonlight through the monstrous creature into sharp relief. The blonde guy gasped as the thing was revealed to be a huge man.

He too was wearing a white robe over the top of his Soul Reaper uniform, which was slightly open at the chest, revealing the number 69 tattooed on his muscles. His arms were probably wider in muscle than my whole body, but what caught my attention was the odd white mask that was covering his face, the huge white glove-like fists on his hands and the white bars protruding from his arms and back.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" I didn't know anything about Soul Reapers but I could tell that there was something seriously wrong with this guy. He had the same uniform so why was he attacking them?

More footsteps came into range fast approaching.

This time several Soul Reapers had come to their aid.

"Shinji!" shouted a tall woman in a uniform the style of a mini skirt, with black braided hair and glasses.

"Are you okay, Hiyori?" A coloured man with an afro haircut and sunglasses called over, he too was wearing a white robe. Another robed man with curly blonde haired was following close behind them. They all stopped shortly behind Shinji and Hiyori and stared at the monstrous man in disbelief. They too seemed to recognize him instantly. "K-Kensei... What's going on? That can't be…"

"Is that really Kensei?" the other blonde man asked. "His spiritual pressure... And that mask... It's just like a hollow's!"

There was a pause. They all continued to look at Kensei, who stared right back at them like a grotesque statue. "I don't know if that really is Kensei, maybe it's just a hollow who has taken on his appearance," Shinji began, changing stances. "But either way, if we don't draw our Zanpakuto's were good as dead."

Suddenly the air felt heavy like it was weighing down on top of me. I felt like I was being crushed.

Kensei crouched down and roared, letting off a blast of green energy and shooting off into the air.

The man with the afro mimicked him and shot off too, staring around for him. Kensei reappeared behind him and punched him square in the back, causing an explosion of dust in mid-air, the sound of the connection sound like a small explosion.

"Love!" the curly blonde man called but Love was concealed by the dense cloud of smoke in the sky. The smoke eventually cleared, and Love was crouching with his sword drawn, completely out of breath.

"Don't you get it! That's Kensei up there! We can't-"

"Shut up, Hiyori. Even if that is the real Kensei we have to stop him. We can't let him rampage like this" Shinji said calmly.

"That's right, Hiyori. We must do what is necessary even if that means harming Kensei." the curly man agreed, stepping forward.

The black-haired girl also stepped forward, drawing her sword. "There are plenty of ways to stop people without killing them, we should just cut off his limbs instead," she suggested seriously.

She shot off into the sky, followed by the curly-haired man.

The girl repeatedly swung at Kensei but never landed a hit. She slashed down on him, whirled around and slashed again and jumped backwards.

Out of nowhere, the blonde man came crashing down on Kensei, but he easily blocked this sword with his arm. It didn't even cut into him in the slightest.

The girl took this opportunity to try his other open side, but he blocked that with a huge white fist too and threw them off like flimsy rag-dolls.

I stared on in awe as they both landed neatly in mid-air as though they were standing on an invisible sheet of glass. I looked up at the blonde man, his sword was glinting in the moonlight... and _what is that above him?_ I wondered, squinting my eyes to see another something fast approaching. It was another silhouette.

Something or someone approached him at like a comet hurtling from space with a leg outstretched straight. It hit him straight on the head and booted him down to the ground like a football.

"ROSE!" the black-haired girl called down as the man collided with the ground and caused another explosion of dust.

I had wanted to call "Look out!" but stopped myself. I didn't want to give myself away to the creatures or the Soul Reapers. I didn't want to risk being attacked or distracting them.

Again, the moonlight showed that this new figure was a girl, with bright green hair, a pink scarf around her neck, black long-sleeved Soul Reaper robes at the top with a badge wrapped around her right arm, a white mask that was a different shape to Kensei's and the same white substance that was on Kensei covered her legs like trousers.

The mask was kind of like the face of a bug, with large circle eyes, antenna, and an oval face.

She stared down at the group for a moment and then launched another attack. She raised her leg and did a forward flip in mid-air, picking up speed and kicking down on Shinji as she had done with Rose.

Her leg glowed bright red and exploded with forceful energy.

Shinji had blocked her kick with his sword but she was overpowering him and forcing him downwards into the ground. She stopped, jumped back and charged forwards at Shinji again.

She front-flipped in mid-air again and began another kick on him, but he blocked it with his sword, then spinning it like a wheel in the air and she began kicking repeatedly.

Shinji let his guard down for a split second and she almost landed a high kick in his face when another male voice called out to them.

"Quintet of Iron pillars!" Five iron pillars descended from the sky as if spat out by the heavens and landed on the green-haired girl like a cage. She let out an unearthly screech and I looked for the newcomer.

I couldn't quite see from here so I darted across to the next tree to look from the other side.

A short and large round man with a tuft of bright pink hair, a pink moustache and magenta clothing stood a few meters away from me with his hands pressed tightly together.

"You are all so fast! I couldn't keep up, but I'm glad I made it in time." he panted as though he had run a marathon to get here.

"Hachi!" Shinji sighed thankfully.

Hachi paused and looked up Kensei who was still fighting with Love in the air above them. He reached out an open hand and recited: "Way of Binding Number Sixty-Three: Winding Binding Chains!" and closed his hand into a fist.

An intensely bright light in the form of golden chains descended from the sky, winding their way down towards Kensei and wrapping him up tightly. Kensei gave out a screech like the bug girl's and fell out of the sky.

"Shinji, what on earth is going on here? Why does Kensei resemble a Hol-" but Hachi cut off, noticing that Kensei was breaking free from the glowing chains. He reared up onto his legs, writhing around and eventually forced his way out of the chains, snapping them into hundreds of glowing pieces that vanished into thin air.

Everyone gathered around Hachi.

"He broke out the Winding Binding Chains so easily, so I'll need to use my strongest techniques against him, I need you all to help me get a clear shot at him but you may get caught in the spell too..." Hachi explained cautiously.

"Is that all?" Love asked. "I'll get his attention so get him while he's focused on me,"

"I'll help!" the black-haired girl announced and Rose agreed.

"No, I'll go alone. You guys are already covered in injuries, just watch my back." Love didn't wait for them to answer or argue but charged forward. Rose began to shoot small blasts of blue light from his hand at Kensei.

I winced as the blast caused small explosions of dust and dirt but Kensei came out of them completely unphased.

Love took the chance to strike as the dust cleared but again, to my horror, Kensei seemed to have not even felt the blade sinking deep into his shoulder. He punched Love like he was swatting a fly and the black-haired girl dove down on him from behind but was thrown off.

"Hachi, NOW!" she shouted.

Hachi made a hand sign with both hands and chanted: "Way of Binding Number 98: Restrain!" Out of thin air appeared two long, thick ribbons of materials, what they were made of I had no idea but they looked incredibly strong. They wrapped him Kensei and then, again from thin air heavy blocks of stone appeared to weigh down the material and drag Kensei to the ground.

The group gathered their downed comrade, but they were now too far away to talk.

Now that Kensei was restrained I felt slightly safer, I wasn't scared that I would somehow get dragged into this fight anymore, but I thought too soon. I had been zoning out, staring at the scene and remembering everything I had witnessed when suddenly there came an ear-splitting, unearthly roar.

I snapped out of it and saw that Hiyori was now standing in the middle of them, screaming and wearing a white mask... just like the ones Kensei and the green-haired girl were wearing. The air itself suddenly became dense, heavy and painful exactly like the sensation I felt at the Harumachi shrine lake but a hundred times worse.

I was dragged down to the floor in pain as I heard people shouting Hiyori's name.

My vision went completely black. I thought I was dying. I had gone blind and the weight of the air was making my chest too tight to breathe properly. I began to panic and then heard more screams and slashes of swords on their skin.

My vision came back to me and the air became lighter. I was now on my hands and knees panting quickly and still felt weak but I forced myself to look up through the bushes.

Everyone besides Shinji was now flat out on the ground, presumably unconscious. There was now a new person in the clearing with them. A dark-skinned man wearing a white cloak and inverted, white sunglasses mask.

"Kaname... You... You betrayed Kensei?" Shinji gasped while clutching a stab wound.

"He didn't betray anyone, in fact, he's extremely loyal." came another voice from somewhere to my left. A tall browned man wearing the white uniform and glasses were now entering the clearing from the same route Hiyori and I had entered from, accompanied by a young boy with silvery-white hair, he too was wearing a uniform but looked far too young to be a Soul Reaper. Both of them had their swords drawn. "He obeyed every single order I gave him,"

Shinji turned to them, now looking angry. "Aizen! You... I knew it!"

"Oh, so you noticed? And for how long?"

"Since you were in your mother's womb, I always knew you were dangerous! I knew you were the sort of person who should never be trusted. That's why I made you my Lieutenant, to keep an eye on you at all times!"

Aizen chuckled. "And I'm grateful for that, Captain. Thanks to your suspicious nature you never realised."

"Of course I realized! I just said so!" Shinji snapped.

"No, you didn't. For the past months, it wasn't I who followed you."

"What the- You always follow me-"

"Your biggest mistake, Captain Hirako, was keeping me at arm's length. If you'd have treated me the same way as everyone else did, you'd have realized that it wasn't me following you around all this time. You see, captain, the true ability of my Zanpakuto," he paused to unsheathe his sword. "What I like to call 'Absolute Hypnosis'. That is to say, I can make my enemies think, do or see whatever I want them to."

Again Shinji looked horrified. I too gasped and tried not to look at the gleaming sword that was now shimmering in the moonlight, in fear of being hypnotized too.

 _But maybe it will only hypnotize on command... or if it stabs you_ I hoped.

"You never got close to me, never trusted me, opened up to me or tried to know me as others did. Perhaps if you did you would have recognized the imposter and his mannerisms." he sheathed his sword again. "I had my clone memorise my behavioural patterns and how I interact with individuals. Even so, if you had paid attention you would have spotted subtle mistakes. Do you understand now, Captain?"

Shinji did not answer, just stared at the man.

"And one more thing. You say that you chose me to be your Lieutenant so to keep an eye on me, but that is incorrect."

"Excuse me?"

"Captains have the right to choose their Lieutenant's, but lieutenants equally have to right to refuse the offer. That very rarely happens but I had the choice to not become your Lieutenant. Why did I not refuse? Because your suspicious nature provided the perfect environment and conditions for my plans. You did not choose me, Captain, I chose you."

Shinji was now looking furious, but Aizen and the two others were completely calm. "You should take a moment to apologise to your friends. They're on the ground unconscious and bleeding all because of you."

"AIZEN!" Shinji roared and sprang up with his sword ready but almost instantly froze as the clay-like substance exploded from his mouth and eyes.

"Damn it! Not me too!" he choked.

"Thank you for letting me provoke you, Captain," Aizen smirked. The clay began to take the shape of a new mask on the right side of his face.

Shinji whirled around to see the others behind him, who were all still unconscious on the floor were also spewing white clay and developing their own masks.

"AIZEN?! What's going on?!" Aizen looked delighted.

"It seems that the hollowfication process is accelerated when the subject is agitated," the coloured man said to Aizen as he passed him.

"H-hollowfication? W-what is that?" Shinji stuttered and then began to scream in pain.

"You don't need to know. Kaname-"

"Yes sir," the dark-skinned man replied. Without any further questions, Kaname unsheathed his sword and slashed Hiyori, who had slowly been approaching them from behind. Even though the mask was fully formed, and her eyes had changed colour she still seemed to have a reasonable amount of control over herself.

Shinji attacked him from behind, but he countered and jumped aside.

"I don't know what the hell is going on, but don't assume that everything will go according to plan just yet"

There was a moments silence, then Kaname called for instructions.

"Proceed. The loss of one sample will not make much of a difference." Aizen said coldly.

"A sample? Is that all I am to you?" Shinji called.

 _A sample? So he is using them as lab rats for some sort of experiments? Wait... Could he be behind all of these deaths?!_ I wondered, putting two and two together. The severity of the situation I was in was beginning to dawn on me. I knew I wasn't safe here even if I was hidden, I had to move but I couldn't take my eyes off of the scene, I desperately wanted to find out more.

Kaname charged forward to attack Shinji but he blocked. They both landed a few good hits and then slid away from each other to face off. Again, Shinji was silent and looking as though he was in pain. Kaname began a second assault but was soon sent flying into the ground.

 _He's a lot stronger than he looks, or is that due to the mask?_ I thought. _Those masks... They seem to send people wild... so how is he able to control it?_

Kaname freed himself from debris that was now on top of him where he had landed. "My apologies... I will dispose of him now" he panted.

"Don't worry Kaname, I had expected this." Aizen turned to the other Soul Reapers who were still unconscious on the floor a few meters from them. White clay was now wildly splashing around their faces like gargling water that was trying to escape. "The speed of the hollowfication process varies from person to person." Again, Shinji began to puke out white clay which forcefully spread across this left side and down his back. "Thank you, Captain Hirako, you have proven to be a magnificent experiment and fascinating to watch... But I'm finished with you now. Let's put this to an end, shall we?"

I gasped. _NO! He's not going to kill him too?!_

Aizen slowly began to unsheathe his sword and raised it high into the air. I tried not to look at it but it shone like a gem in the moonlight. "One last thing for you to learn, Captain. There is no fear when one expects to be betrayed, the true fear is when the betrayal is unexpected. Farewell."

 _Betrayal?! So he is responsible! He IS the enemy here!_ I now wanted more than ever to stand and help, but I knew I was powerless in this situation.

"GODDAMNIT!" Shinji raged at the top of his lungs, clay writhing violently.

I forced my eyes shut and dropped to the ground, not wanting to see the blonde-haired man get killed. I wanted to run for help but my legs were too shaky to move. But there was no slash or scream or pain, but instead the sound of someone landing on the ground with a thud. I looked up and peered through the bushes again. There stood a black-cloaked and hooded figure holding a sword and facing directly at Aizen, followed by a much taller and larger man in a blue and golden cloak.

Like the others, I couldn't quite make out the cloaked man's features or expressions at my current distance and in this light except small tufts of mousey blonde hair poking out from under his hood, but I hoped he was an ally and not another enemy.

"Oh? We have unexpected guests." Aizen stated, not sounding in the slightest bit worried, more interested in the new arrivals.

"Opsy looks like they found us" the silver-haired boy finally spoke, sounding more amused than worried.

Kaname's hand flew to the hilt of his sword. "I'll kill them!"

"No, Kaname."

"But Sir-"

"Kaname. I think I made myself clear. I said no." The seriousness of Aizen's tone was more frightening than his usual taunting tone. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

Kaname faltered and was quick to drop to the ground in a low bow. "Yes Sir, my apologies, please forgive my insolence."

Aizen did not answer but turned away from him, almost in disgust.

"Ki-kisu-ke..." Shinji was now crawling toward the black-cloaked man. His voice had a sort of strange, rattling, echoey pitch to it that was not there before. "You fool, why did you come here?"

"SHINJI?! What's up with your face?!" The moment I heard that voice, I felt an unbearable stabbing pain in my head and blacked out again. This time instead of images rolling across my vision I heard voices. As clear as though they were shouting down my ears, but at the same time distantly echoey.

" _I'm alive!"_

" _Not exactly-"_ the cloaked man's voice chuckled. _"Now little girl-" the voice seemed to skip conversations:_

 _"Yeah yeah, okay, now kid, sorry to spring this on you but it's dangerous here and you need to move on- Look I'm going to help you move on to the next life by giving you a Soul Burial, you can rest in peace- I don't have time for this, it's too dangerous here right now. If it was any other time I would help, but I can't. Good luck kid, you'll be needing it."_

I awoke from the memory with a sharp intake of air like a drowning person surfacing. The air seeming to rush into my ears as though the voices had just got up and left. I gasped for ear and clutched my head tightly.

"What the hell... He... He was the one who saved me..." I mumbled, staring over at the man. "It's him! I found him!" I was suddenly excited and wanted to speak to the man. I wanted to be on his side and to help him, but that fact that I would probably be killed if I revealed myself kept me still.

I focused as the man began to speak again. "So, Lieutenant Aizen. What exactly have you done?"

"Nothing, Captain Urahara," he answered quickly, guilt written all over his straight face. "You see, I stumbled upon the investigation team here like this. It seems they were injured in battle, I tried to save their lives"

My rage flared. _You liar! You did! You murderer!_ I thought furiously. I wasn't one hundred per cent sure that the others were dead, they hadn't moved for an awfully long time.

"You bastard, they'll never buy that bullshit" Shinji hissed.

There was a pause in which Urahara lowered his head, seemly disappointed. "Why are you lying to us?" he asked quietly, as though encouraging a misbehaving child to confess.

"Lying? Is there a problem with a Lieutenant trying to help his Captain and fellow officers?"

"No. But that's not what I meant. Do you call those 'injuries'? Injured in battle?" he scanned the bodies on the ground. "Quit dodging bullets, Sosuke. This is hollowfication." Aizen did not comment, just stared directly at Urahara. "First, the vanishing souls. Soul Reapers and Rukon residents vanishing as though they had been erased, and now what we see here. It can only be one thing. Hollowfication research."

Aizen glared at him. Urahara bowed his head again. " _Someone_ has been researching this place- But I'm sure I know who is responsible."

A smirk broke out on Aizen's face. "Your reputation proceeds you, Captain. As a matter of fact, I'm glad that you joined us tonight," he said, sheathing his sword and turning to his two comrades. "Gin, Kaname. We have fulfilled our objective, let's leave." they too turned to follow behind him in the direction of the path that they entered from, right next to my hiding spot.

My heart raced and she dropped low to the ground again, too frightened to watch them in case they felt my eyes on them.

"Stop Sousuke! We're not finished!" Urahara roared.

"Captain, move out of the way!" the tall man with the blue and golden cloak shouted too. He raised his arm into a sort of hand sign gesture. "Way of Destruction Eighty-Eight: Flying Dragon Strike, Heaven Shaking Lightning Cannon!" Electric blue chains of lightning ripped through the air right at Aizen, leaving a sonic boom that sounded like roars in their wake.

I braced myself for impact, crouching into a ball on the floor with my arms wrapped around my head. My white light Spirit Energy once again acted like a shield around me and lit up brightly, but what happened next was so fast that I wouldn't have seen it if I'd have been watching.

A gigantic wall erupted out of the ground and blocked the lightning chains completely, causing the place to go pitch black as the moonlight was blocked for just a moment, and then the impact of lightning on the wall caused a huge flaming explosion.

There was a sound of shattering glass, and at the same time that the reflected heat washed over me, my shield vaporized like a white mist. When I looked up Aizen was gone. I stood up and looked around the clearing to see the two men also looking around. I backed away slowly, but as I went to turn and run away he bumped into something tall.

I almost screamed. It was him, Aizen, standing right next to me, smiling down at me. His two comrades emerged from the shadows behind him.

"It seems we had another guest lurking in the shadows" Gin the young boy smiled.

"Yes, it seems so." Aizen agreed.

I back off into a tree behind me. "How did you know I was here?"

"I could sense your leaking Spirit Energy, and then I saw a white glow in the trees as we left. You should learn to control that." I felt like kicking myself. How foolish of me to give away my position, but it was true that I really couldn't control it all that well. "How long were you watching?"

I bit my tongue. _If I tell the truth he'll probably kill me, If I lie he'll know I'm lying and kill me... and if I don't answer..._ "Since before you arrived. I saw everything." I said slowly, readying myself to run.

"Sir, she is a witness, shall I kill her?" Kaname asked reaching for his sword again. I pulled back again placing my feet in a position that would allow me to bolt in an instant.

"No Kaname, enough. I have other ideas." he looked me up and down for a moment. "You are not a Soul Reaper are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"I thought not. You have no sword and you are wearing black but not a uniform. Your spirit energy is too weak to be a fully-fledged Soul Reaper but far stronger than the average Rukon resident. Tell me, do you plan to become a Soul Reaper?"

I was wary of his every move and word. He was unpredictable. "Yes, I do."

He smiled. "Good. With energy like that, I believe you have potential, you just need training."

"I have already been training myself for a few months"

"But that is not real training. Though your stealth and concealment would be exceptional if your energy wasn't leaking. Look, Girl. Do you know what these do?" he asked, turning to the side and showing me his sheathed sword.

My heart skipped a beat. He was going to hypnotize me. "Yes I do, you don't need to show me, I know what those words do"

"Oh, but mine is unique you see. Not all swords have the same abilities-" he unsheathed it and I clamped my eyes shut. I didn't know if the hypnosis would trigger from looking at the blade or with a spell, but I didn't want to risk it. "Oh? so you heard that part too, did you? That's good. You are observant."

I began to edge slowly to my left, not losing eye contact with them, into a better position to run from.

"Unfortunately its too late for you. I wouldn't move if I were you"

My heart plummeted to my feet. Was I already under his spell? I didn't feel any different. "But you're not me, so..." I didn't finish my sentence. I crouched and pushed away from the ground in a millisecond flash step.

"You little-" Kaname began but Aizen held out a had to stop him from pursuing me.

"Let her run. It's too late for her."

I was now gliding along the forest floor as fast as my legs would carry me so that the trees were new blurs as I passed them. I didn't care which direction I was going as long as I could escape from them. I knew who was responsible and I could most likely hand the three over to the Soul Reapers, I just needed to get to safety.

I turned my head while running to see if they were following. Nothing. They were out of sight.

 _Squelch._ I was forcefully stopped. There was a horrific pain in my chest. I coughed and bought up blood and turned to look down at the source. A long shining blade was embedded in my chest, right below my heart. I struggled for breath and my vision went blurry. I could barely make out my attacker, his glasses glinting with the reflection of the moonlight breaking through the treetops and a thin malevolent smile.

I coughed up blood once more and fell to the ground.

The moon was hovering directly above me through the canopy of trees but was quickly blocked when my attacker walked in front of it.

"Nice try, but you will _never_ outrun a Captain level Soul Reaper," Aizen said before plunging his blade into my chest one more and I blacked out.

He stood over my lifeless body for a moment. "Kaname, see to it that she doesn't remember any of this."

"Yes, Sir." He nodded and Aizen walked away.

* * *

A/N: 23/08/19 - Hopefully the rest of the third person mistakes are fixed. On to the next one lol


	10. Lost, Found and Framed

Chapter 10 – Lost, Found and Framed

I opened my eyes slowly. This had been the second time I had been woken by a cold breeze and found myself in unfamiliar surroundings. I lay there on the frozen solid ground staring up at thick grey clouds, watching tiny white flakes float down from the sky.

I looked around without moving my head. It hadn't been snowing long, thankfully. Everything I could see was covered with a thin dusting of snow, like frosting on a cake, including my clothes judging by the feeling of wet wool against my skin.

"Where am I?" I asked myself croakily, slowly scanning the tree canopies above me. "Why am I in a forest?"

I continued to lie there staring up at the sky quite contentedly. This was my first snow since arriving in this world. It was, in a strange way, peaceful and beautiful to watch and quite fascinating. The temperature was surprisingly mild. If the snow hadn't been seeping into my clothes and making my skin itch I could have happily lay there all day.

I tried to think. Why was I there? Had I been on a job for someone? Was I traveling? But my brain was too fuzzy to make sense of anything.

Suddenly voices, heavy footfalls and the cracking of twigs came from somewhere to my right.

"Over there! There's someone here!" a woman called. Several people were approaching but I continued to look up at the sky.

"You! Girl!" a new male voice called in demand. "Identify yourself!"

I blinked and snapped out of my haze. I heaved myself up with difficulty, realizing that I ached all over as though I had done a lot of exercises, and I had a stiff neck and back from sleeping in the cold. All of the Soul Reapers had their swords pulled slightly out of their sheaths and were in a stance that said they were ready to attack or defend at any moment.

I eyed the shining metal for a moment hesitantly. "Kimiko Murasaki... Harumachi in district two-" I croaked and my breath poured out like fog in front of my face. I was about to explain that I didn't exactly know why I was here when the surrounding group of black-uniformed Soul Reapers gave a collective sigh of relief and clicked their swords back into position at their sides.

"That's a relief. Go and inform the family" the one who seemed to be in charge instructed. "We've been looking for you all night, kid"

"Looking for me? How did I get here? Why was I sleeping on the ground?" This guy was built like a brick wall, but not in the muscular sense. He wore a purple shirt underneath his black uniform, a golden chain around his neck and a Lieutenant's badge on his upper left arm. His hair was a light chestnut brown and was styled into a puffy Elvis doo and he looked like his favorite hobby was stuffing his face with junk food. He gave off the air of someone who demanded attention by flaunting their wealth.

He shrugged. "All we know is that you ran away from your village sometime last night and we've been searching for you ever since. You're gonna have to come with us. We need to ask you a few questions and then we'll get you back to your family when we're done." he looked at my clothing. It was ripped and frayed in places, as though it had gotten snagged on something while I was moving. My skin was grazed and dirty. "But we'll examine you and get you cleaned up first." He added as an afterthought, as though the state of my filthy clothes was more concerning.

I nodded in agreement but when I tried to stand I fell back down, my body numb from the cold.

The man helped me up and called for another officer to carry me, again as if he didn't want to dirty his own uniform. Another man hurried over to hoist me up onto his back and the group departed at a run.

"The office is quite a distance, it'll take some time to get there so just rest" One of the women that were accompanying us smiled. She didn't even need to tell me, I was out like a light bulb within minutes despite the pain and biting wind on my skin.

As I slept, the Soul Reapers discussed the fact that I was soaked in the same spiritual pressure that had been found at the site of the crime that I could no longer remember.

"She was definitely involved, no mistaking it." The Lieutenant said after the officers told him what they had found in their investigation during the morning.

Quite sometime later, I wasn't sure how long, I was being shaken awake by the Lieutenant. I had been placed down on a medical bed and nurses were entering the room to my right.

"Ah good, you're awake. We've brought you to the District One Rukon Treatment Centre on the edge of the Seireitei. Once you've been examined and cleaned up we'll take you in for questioning." he explained, his tone cold and business-like. One of the nurses gave me a hot water bottle and wrapped a blanket tight around my shoulders.

"I've requested that the Captain of Squad Four and the medical team comes to examine you as your evidence may very well be key to this investigation so we need you fit and healthy. Wait here for them." and with that, he and the nurses walked out and left me alone in the clean white treatment room.

I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself and wondered over to a chair at the corner of the room facing out of the window.

I looked out at the sprawling town below my second-floor window for a while, starting to warm up and attempting to remember anything as the snow got heavier and heavier. Even from inside this warm and comfy room the snow was still fascinating to watch.

The reason I was outside must be something to do with my plan to leave the village that night... I remember what Shin said... I thought, remembering how painful it had been to hear the truth. But the last thing I remember was sitting on the hill overlooking the town... It suddenly occurred to me that if I had left I probably wouldn't be able to return or face my family, so where would I go after this? Would Harumachi or the Soul Reapers have me punished for running away under curfew?

The door to the room opened slowly and my head flicked around.

My eyes widened as a tall and beautiful woman wearing a white captains cloak with shining black hair that was tied into thick braids underneath her chin entered the room, followed by a tall young man.

The woman smiled serenely at me and introduced herself. "Hello, I am Retsu Unohana, Captain of the Fourth squad and this is my Lieutenant, Seinosuke Yamada. We're here to get you examined" the man nodded and smiled as he was introduced.

"He-hello, I'm Kimiko Murasaki..." I said somewhat awkwardly. I wondered if I should bow or something. I had never met a captain face to face before. It was like meeting royalty.

Unohana smiled again. "Let's begin then. Seinosuke, if you wouldn't mind-"

"Of course, ma'am. I'll be patrolling the department if you need me" much to my relief he bowed and left the room closing the door behind him. I didn't really want to be examined by a man, I would have felt awkward and uncomfortable.

"Let's see." Unohana proceeded to take my weight and measurements, give her a few general check-ups on my hearing, eyesight, balance and etc. jotting notes down on a clipboard as she went.

"Well good news. You're fit and healthy. You are a little underweight and short for your age but that's due to your metabolism and hormones. Nothing that won't change as you get older. You've got a few scrapes and bruises which I can heal for you now. Other than that, I think a nice warm mug of soup will do you the world of good" she smiled again.

I sighed. "That's good, thank you." Unohana began to heal my small wounds with a pale green light emitting from her hands. I guessed that this was Unohana's Spirit energy, I could feel it around me like an invisible powerful heaviness to the atmosphere.

"Excuse me...Ma'am?" I asked hesitantly while Unohana was fixing a bloody scrape on my knee.

"I'm a little bit concerned about my brain..." I knew it sounded stupid and Unohana too looked a little taken aback.

"In what way do you mean?"

"It's just, I've had amnesia since I got here, and I lost all of my memories of my life in the World of the Living and now I've lost my memories of what happened to me last night... It's like those times never even happened... I'm worried that there is something wrong with me... Is this sort of thing normal?"

Now that I was finally near a professional I was hoping for real answers, not just people telling me that everything would be okay. I couldn't let an opportunity like this pass. If there was anything that could be done to fix the problem this woman would know it.

Unohana could hear the genuine concern in my voice and pondered the issue for a moment.

"It isn't unheard of for someone who has died to suffer from minor Amnesia when waking up as a Soul. But for it to reoccur like this. Usually, the memories would come back to them within a few months, a year at the most."

"I've been here nearly eight months now and I don't remember much... I have small blackouts that come with flashbacks occasionally... but nothing that makes sense to me"

"If that is the case" she wondered over to the door and popped her head out. "Seinosuke, some assistance please?" and the young man from before re-entered the room. "I'd like for you to help me run some tests Miss Murasaki's brain, she is suffering from an unusual form of Amnesia, or that is how it appears. I would like a second opinion on the matter, in case I miss something."

The two of them proceeded to do tests on me, though I wasn't hooked up to machines with pipes and wires. They simply held their hands on her head and began using that green light again.

I felt a little awkward like I was part of some weird ritual or something but I stayed calm and looked around the room, trying to keep still for them.

Neither of them spoke, they seemed to be in deep concentration.

I sat there waiting for something to happen or for one of them to say something for around twenty minutes and began to fidget uncomfortably, trying to move into a better position without disturbing them when all of a sudden the Lieutenant spoke.

"Captain-!"

"Yes, I know, I noticed it too"

My heart did a somersault. "What? What is it? Is something wrong?"

"It seems as though a powerful Memory Lock Kido has been placed on you," Unohana told me, lowering her hands. "Now that I have found the spell I can sense traces of the Spiritual Pressure on you, which means that the Kido spell was only performed very recently. I'm surprised I didn't sense it sooner"

"So that means someone has locked away my memory?"

"Yes. And only within the last day or so, which means this could be used as evidence. Excuse me, I must begin writing a report on this immediately."

"Wait! Is there no way to unlock it? Can I not get it back?"

"Perhaps if it were a weaker, lower level Kido, or if it had been performed by an amateur, but this seems to be Captain level. They've done a good job of it. I would be almost impossible to unlock without permanently damaging your brain and memories. The only thing that can be done is to wait for the Kido to weaken over time, though I'm not sure how long that would take... I'm sorry"

I shook my head and smiled. "It's okay, I didn't expect there to be a way to retrieve my lost memories instantly. But what about the memories I was losing before yesterday?"

Unohana nodded. "For that, I am not sure. There is no sign of any abnormalities other than this memory lock. I am going to assume that it is simply a case of trauma-based amnesia which is common in a lesser degree. Again, that would be something that comes back to you over time."

I could hide my disappointment. She gave me the exact same answer as everyone else and I had been hoping for more. "Thank you, Captain," I said gratefully nonetheless.

"Seinosuke, can you inform the patrol squad that we are finished and will get the results to them as soon as possible, and to come and collect Miss Murasaki immediately?"

"Yes Ma'am" he nodded.

"Thank you. You should be fine from here on Miss Murasaki. Good luck"

"Thank you very much!" I bowed. I was truly grateful for her help in putting my mind at rest. She had been everything I had imagined of a Captain and more. And with that Unohana smiled and left. Her Lieutenant held his hand out and a small black butterfly appeared out of nowhere, landed on it and then flew away again after a few seconds.

I looked at him questioningly.

"I've sent a message to the patrol squad to come and get you, they will take you to be questioned at their department just down the road, you should get some rest until they arrive" and he too left the room.

I lay down on the bed and waited, butterflies floating around in my stomach as my overactive imagination ran wild at the thought of being interrogated.

Horrible thoughts went through my mind, as they do when you're dreading something. I didn't know what I had done after leaving the village. What if I had done something bad? Was I a suspect? What if I was wrongly accused or sentenced for a crime I didn't commit? I did leave the village when it was under curfew after all... maybe that was a crime... I could have done anything after leaving that night, anything at all.

I sandwich slapped myself with both hands roughly. "Snap out of it! You've done nothing wrong!" I said though not entirely confident.

Soon after, the tall and fat Lieutenant from the patrol squad was back again. He escorted me out of the building and straight into a fancy looking horse-drawn carriage. The temperature had dropped considerably while I had been indoors, and the snow was now a few inches deep.

I really was captivated by the snow, continuing to stare out of the window as we made our way across the town, that is until I spotted something that made my eyes widen in surprise and my heart fluttered again.

I started to notice more and more teenagers walking around wearing the same type of Uniform, very similar to a Soul Reaper's uniform. A white shirt that had a logo on the breast pocket with a long, brightly colored strip along the length of their shoulders that matched the color of their Hakama trousers, blue for boys and red for girls. Most of the youths I spotted were carrying long grey bags on their backs, bags on their shoulders and books in their arms.

We turned a corner and I saw a gigantic white building with a white roof and high walls across the road to our left.

"Is that..."

"Hmm? That? Oh, that's the Shin-o Academy for Soul Reapers" the Lieutenant said off-hand, not bothered in the slightest.

"No way..." I was so close, so damn close to my dream! It was right there in front of me. I had wanted for so long to join the academy and become a real Soul Reaper, to get my own sword and use my power to help people... and now that I was so close I wanted nothing more than to leave this stupid carriage, forget about my interrogation and go and sign up.

The Lieutenant laughed as I continued to press my face against the window. I tried to crane my neck to get a good look through the entrance as we passed it, but it was gone quicker than it had come.

I had been close to it for only a few brief moments, but it had been within touching distance. Even though it was now out of sight, my ambition to join was now bigger than ever. I was determined that I would one day be one of those students, playing in the snow with my friends during lunch break.

I sat back down and thought about what I would do when I got back home. On the other hand, there was no guarantee I would even have a home to return to after running away like that. But I tried not to think about that.

We finally came to a halt outside of a similar building to the academy, though a lot smaller.

"We're here. This is the District One Rukon Investigation Department. Seeing as only Soul Reapers are authorized to enter the Seireitei we deal with all Rukon related investigations, crimes and questionings here." I silently nodded. Feeling my stomach do a stop-drop-and-roll maneuver.

As we entered, another young man approached us hurriedly. "Lieutenant, thank goodness. We must hurry, the time was moved up! Their inquest is due to begin any time soon; they need our evidence right away!"

"Whaaat? Already? The hell... they could have warned us! C'mon kid we need to get this over with"

I was escorted into a small and dark room with a number of uniformed officers waiting for me and they immediately began questioning me.

I explained one hundred percent truthfully about what I had overheard between my father and the Soul Reaper, what I knew about the problems in the Rukon with the deaths and disappearances, how I had felt about being lied to and how I wanted to help.

"And that's it. I remember planning to leave and after that… everything is just blank."

The lieutenant sat back in his chair and thought to himself. "Why would you just forget like that?"

"The woman who healed me says that a memory lock was put on my brain," I said, not entirely understanding what that meant due to having no knowledge of Soul Reaper powers. They gave me a disbelieving look. "I'm not lying! It's the truth! She said she would write a report and-" I began to desperately defend myself when the door was knocked and opened. A woman delivered a stack of papers to the Lieutenant and he sat in silence as he read.

It had been around twenty minutes since my investigation had begun and the Reapers were looking more and more agitated.

"Is that so..." he uttered to himself. I stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"You see? I was telling the truth."

He nodded and held up the file. "Somebody send this report and the rest of our evidence to the judges, I expect they are in for questioning about now." a man a red uniform flitted in out of nowhere, took the papers and scanned over them, then left without a word.

"Sorry but... Was someone caught?"

He hesitated. "Yes. They were caught late last night in the Seireitei and their trial is about to begin. This evidence will help a lot."

"Good, I'm glad."

Elsewhere, deep in the Central 46 courthouse deep within the Seireitei, Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi were frogmarched down a long corridor and into a courtroom, their hands shackled with planks of wood and chains behind their backs.

A narrow walkway led through tall rows of seats and down into a circular room. The door was shut behind them with a slam and a bright interrogation spotlight was turned on above them.

They could now see the towering rows of seats, where judges sat behind paper screens gazing down upon them.

There was silence for a moment and Urahara spoke up. "So, will someone tell us what's going on here?"

"No one granted you permission to speak. This is an inquest. You have been brought here for questioning and you will only speak to answer questions, is that understood, Squad Twelve Captain?"

Urahara didn't answer. Inquest? Am I being accused of something?

A voice came from his high right and he turned to the speaker who sounded like an elderly man. "Can you tell us your whereabouts last night?"

He didn't hesitate, he had nothing to hide. "District Six in West Fugai"

"Conducting hollowfication experiments?" he hinted as if he knew what Urahara could be hiding.

His eyes widened. "Wait! Hold on a minute! Who told you that?" He demanded in horror.

"As part of your research, you tested hollowfication on the Captain of Squads Three, Five, Seven and Nine as well as their Lieutenants." There was a pause where Urahara stared at the speaker in realization.

It was him, it was Aizen. He told them that, he framed me! Urahara thought.

"Who told you that!?"

"You don't deny it?"

"It was Lieutenant Aizen, wasn't it?" He snarled, his head bowed in anger. "We only went out there to rescue Shinji and the others, not to harm them!"

The main speaker laughed. "Your lies are beginning to sound more and more comical. Besides the Lieutenant of Squad Five never left his barracks last night. We have the sworn statements of one Captain and one hundred and twenty-four members. That makes it very hard to doubt."

"But he was... He was there last night... In Fugai! Not in the Seireitei!" Urahara shouted completely confused.

A man wearing a red and black uniform and a wooden hat dropped into out of thin air behind them. He knelt into a bow. Urahara turned to look at him. Tessai continued to look sternly forward. The man handed a stack of papers to the head judge who read them silently for a few minutes.

"Have new information," he announced to the room at large. "We searched the Squad Twelve barracks and found undeniable evidence of hollowfication experiments. Also, a suspected witness was found near Fugai this morning. The child had a Captain level Memory Lock Kido placed on her, which was unbreakable. She was also bathed in powerful Spiritual Pressure similar to that which was found at the scene of the crime."

The main speaker laughed. "Tessai Tsukabishi, Captain of the Kido corps is already being charged with using a number of forbidden Kido spells. I guess you thought you would clean up after yourselves and make sure the child couldn't remember what she had seen. Too bad she was found and questioned."

Tessai finally looked up and was about to speak.

"There was another? A child? I knew I sensed a small Spiritual Pressure, but I didn't have time to go and look for the owner of it! We never went near a child! It was Aizen! Sosuke Aizen has framed us!"

"Silence!" The man bellowed down at him. "We have heard enough. It is time to pass judgment. Kido Corps Commander Tessai Tsukabishi, for the crime of using numerous forbidden techniques you will be imprisoned in underground prison three. Captain Urahara of Squad Twelve, for conducting research on the banned phenomenon and in doing so to causing harm to fellow squad members you will be sentenced to an eternal ban to the World of the Living and will be stripped of all Spirit Energy." Urahara stared at the ground. Having nothing more to say. He could argue his case as much as he wanted but it wouldn't make a difference. This was the end... he might as well give up.

"Furthermore, the Captains and Lieutenants who were the victims of your evil and cruel experiments will be disposed of as hollows."

Urahara's head shot up in shock. "You can't! Wait a minute!"

Suddenly, the door to the court slammed open. A masked and capped silhouette stood in the doorway, backed with an intense white light for the outside. Urahara had forgotten how dark it was in here, even under the glare of all of these spotlights.

The person launched down into the court and broke the shackles that were holding Urahara and Tessai and knocked out the guard that had attempted to stop them.

The three of them escaped together down the long, brightly lit corridor, dodging the unconscious bodies on the floor and hearing shouts of "Guards! Guard! Is there anyone there?" And "Seize them!" from the courtroom behind them.

They ran in silence for a long time, out of Central 46 and away from the Seireitei until they were eventually high up in the mountains.

The one that had saved them finally stopped in front of them and removed their mask and cape.

"Yoruichi... I knew it... Thank you" Urahara sighed in relief, stretching his arms. Those shackles were tight and uncomfortable. He looked to his left and noticed that Shinji and the others were lying in an unconscious pile near them.

"I went ahead and bought all of them over here along with your new Gigai prototype..." She paused awkwardly. "You should have asked for my help last night you idiot." She snapped, looking away.

"I wouldn't have wanted you to get caught up in all of this, but in saving me like a fool you've gone and done it anyway. What will you do now?" Yoruichi did not answer. She stood there silently thinking.

"If I know you, you've already come up with a plan on how to get yourself out of this, am I right?"

He stared at her then smiled. "You saw right through me as usual. Tessai, please set up a time stop about Shinji and the others, and also step it up to a double- no triple barrier around this area. We're gonna make ten stealth Gigai's, two for us and eight of them. We will find a way to solve this problem, I promise. We will find a way to undo the hollowfication."

He paused. "Yoruichi, please go back to the Seireitei. The last thing I would want is for you to be exiled as well."

I was finally let out of my interrogation after being lectured for a good hour about my reckless actions. I had felt ashamed of myself as they told me how much danger I could have been in. They warned me never to do it again and to leave the heroics to the real Soul Reapers in future.

But I felt even worse when I left the room in the main atrium. Sitting across from me looking anxious and nervous... were my family. I froze as I saw Yuu's head snap up. Her head was in her hands and her legs were shaking as though she had been leaning on a nerve. Mother and Father sat either side of her with their arms draped over her shoulder.

Yuu stared at me, then got up. She walked over to me quickly. I smiled as she got closer expecting a hug, but Yuu's face scrunched in pain. Her hand comes flying upwards and she landed a slap clean across my left cheek with a resounding crack.

I stared at the wall for a moment, the tingling pain finally appearing after a moment's delay. I turned my head back to Yuu whose eyes were overflowing with tears.

"How could you do that to us!" she croaked. "How could you leave us like that, we were terrified!"

If the Soul Reapers lectures had made me feel guilty, it was nothing compared to this. I couldn't bring myself to look at Yuu who was beside herself with tears. Over her shoulder, Yoshino and Shinsetsu both looked close to tears themselves, but evidently holding them back.

"I'm... I'm sorry..."

"I don't care if you're sorry! Sorry doesn't change the fact that you did it! You could have gotten hurt or... or killed! Do you know how that would have made us feel? Did you not think of the consequences, did you!? Why were you so selfish!?" Yuu whaled.

The Soul Reapers around them seemed to take cover in the surrounding rooms, feeling a little bit awkward. Unexpectedly Yuu suddenly swung her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into the hug I had initially been hoping for.

"I really am sorry... I heard the truth about the deaths in the Rukon and thought you didn't care because you were hiding them from me... I didn't think you would care if I left or died…" I explained, my voice now cracking and my eyes welling up with tears.

"Idiot! You idiot!" Yuu held me at arm's length, shaking me lightly. "You're my little sister, you think I would ever forgive myself if anything happened to you!? I've had no one for so long and if you were suddenly gone too..." she trailed off, not wanting to think about it and crying still more violently.

Shinsetsu and Yoshino both got up and hugged us tightly.

"It's okay. It's over now. The whole Rukon problem is solved and everyone is safe. That is all that matters" Shin whispered down to them. I nodded, sobbing into Yuu's shoulder.


	11. Ambushed

06-05-18 - Edited a few mistakes and missed third person edits though there's probably more lurking :(

* * *

Chapter 11 - Ambushed

The journey home was a long and awkward one. The snow had quickly grown into a raging blizzard which turned our thirty-five-minute journey into a two and a half hour one, which seemed to drag due to the awkwardness still floating around us.

I felt horrible and made it my mission to avoid making eye contact or conversation with any of my family, choosing instead to stare out of the window in a deep daydream.

Of course, father kept true to his word and punished me when we finally got home. To me, it was the worst possible punishment, worse than being hit or scolded.

Shin took me to his office, sat me down without offering me nibbles or a drink as he usually would have done, so I knew I was in trouble, and began by repeating his lecture on the consequences of my reckless actions and how disappointed he was in the calmest, quietest, most dissatisfied tone for the third time.

I did feel ashamed and kept my eyes averted to the floor the whole time, just nodded and said "Yes, Sir" until he told me my punishment.

"You are not allowed to leave the house for one week. In that time, you are to complete chores around the house, which includes cooking and cleaning-"

I stood up in protest. "You can't do that!"

"Oh, I can and I will"

"But-"

"One more complaint and I'll make it two weeks. You should have thought of the consequences before acting." Shin too got up and walked around the table towards the door. "I have given the maids the week off. You will do this alone and without help."

"WHAT?! Alone? I can't do all of that alone-"

"Three weeks and confinement to your bedroom while you're not busy." He cut in worsening my punishment. "Don't make me set your garden as off limits too." I stopped instantly, knowing how not to make it any worse for myself.

"You will start immediately. Am I making myself clear?"

I folded my arms and turned my head away from him so not to look him in the eyes and grunted "Yes, Sir" again stubbornly.

Shin smiled and walked escorted me out of his office.

Over the next few days, I skulked around the house in a foul mood, doing any jobs that were given to me.

I usually spent the majority of my time outdoors; exploring, training or just relaxing somewhere with a good view. I hated being cooped up like this. I now understood how animals felt when they were forced into captivity.

At first, I would rush jobs just to get them out of the way, thinking that I would get to relax and be left alone in my room afterward, but I had been mistaken. As soon as one job was finish they would give me another until eventually, I realized that I might as well take my time and put some effort into my work.

I began to appreciate the maids and all their hard work. Until now I had never really taken much notice of them but now I understood that I was doing all of the work that more than five people would do all by myself… and it was exhausting.

I tried to think of it as training and exercise to overcome that horrible sinking feeling in my stomach whenever I thought of this as three weeks worth of training time wasted, or three weeks further away from joining the academy.

The only advantage of the punishment was that I would be able to sneak bites of food out of the kitchen if I was working in there and no one else was around.

Yuu was lounging around in the dining room with her feet up on the table whilst I mopped the floors, probably to make fun of me or make my task more difficult. It was unlike her to be indoors at this time of day so I could think of any other reason.

"You missed a spot," Yuu mumbled, pointing over to the corner while crunching into a huge and juicy-looking red apple.

I winced like her words were knives. Now I knew she was there to annoy me, I had been over that spot three times already!

"You don't say! It a pretty big spot too, I should get rid of it-" and I dropped the wet mop on Yuu's head from behind.

She flinched, yelped and jumped to her feet. "You made me bite my tongue! Meanie..."

"You've got some nerve, calling me a meanie. You try doing this crap all day every day and then call me a meanie!"

"Oh, get over it already. Your punishment ends tomorrow; You can go out again and stop skulking around the house like a moody old cat. And at least we don't have to suffer your horrible cooking anymore." she added the last part under her breath, immediately bracing herself to be attacked with the mop again but luckily I missed that last comment. Yuu sighed in relief and took another bite of her apple while I spoke.

"It doesn't matter... I wanted to go out in the snow while it's still fresh, but its melting and paths are frozen solid..."

"That won't be the last snow dummy, it'll be back soon"

"It's not the same though; Virgin snow is the best thing in the world!"

Yuu nearly choked on her apple. "Excuse me? What?"

"Virgin snow? You know-" Yuu stared at me with wide eyes as if to say 'No... not really'.

"Fresh snow, deep, thick, untouched, smooth, pure white... Not that horrible slushy stuff you get on the roads and in the village. It's so much fun to play in~" I said dreamily.

Yuu lobbed a cushion in my face. "Okaaay, enough of that, weirdo! Get back to work already, these floors aren't gonna mop themselves, chop chop!" she quickly springing to her feet and clapping her hands as if to usher me along.

"You're the weirdo for not knowing what I'm talking about, weirdo." I sighed under my breath, picking up the mop and bucket of soapy water and stomping into the hallway.

The next morning I woke up in an exceptionally good mood. Today my punishment, which had felt like an eternity of miserable slavery, was finally over. I got dressed and skipped off to the dining room with a spring in my step.

I slammed the door open, smiling brightly and humming to myself as I took an enthusiastic sniff of the air. "Gooooood morning everyone~" I sang, helping myself to an omelet.

They stared at me as though I had lost my mind. "You're awfully happy today," Shin said smiling pleasantly.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" I took a bite of the square piece of bouncy egg and sank back into my seat in bliss. "It tastes so good when I haven't made it myself..."

Yuu laughed. "Sorry to agree but your cooking was horrendous. You burnt almost everything. Today is the first day we've had edible food thanks to the maids"

"And such a wonderful job they do! I'm so glad they are here"

"Well, at least we know that your punishment taught you something." Shin piped up, piling a bowl high with rice. "But I must say you did a magnificent job on the outside hallway floors. So, I would like it if you clean those floors once a month"

I winced and put my food down. The idea of more cleaning put me off my food. "You're only joking right?"

"Joking? Certainly not. You did a splendid job. Cleaning the outside hallways is not one of the maid's usual jobs; they get cleaned once in a blue moon. I don't remember seeing them so shiny." Shin said, jovially waving his chopsticks around as he spoke.

I dropped my head onto the table heavily in despair "And here I thought I'd never have to pick up a mop again in my life"

"No worries Kimi, I'll help you next time. It'll be fun with the two of us" Yuu smiled. "Now hurry up and finish eating, it just started to snow again! You wanted to see the snow right?"

I shot a glance out of the nearest window and spotted tiny flakes floating to the ground without a single breeze. I wolfed down my food and almost choked on my rice.

"Slow down, you'll give yourself indigestion" Yoshino warned me, patting me on the back.

"I know I know but there's no time for that, I gotta get moving, thanks for the food, see you later" and with that, I was up and out of there.

Yuu looked back at her parents and shrugged, then followed me.

"That girl, she's like a flea in a bottle, she never sits still." Shin sighed. "But at least we know that she is happy, that's all that matters"

"Jeez, you'd think you've never been outside before"

"I'll have you know that those three weeks of punishment were torture, absolute TORTURE. I'm so glad to be out again" I pranced through the snow like I had never seen the stuff before.

Yuu shivered and wrapped her coat tighter around herself. "If you ask me you're completely out of your mind, walking around like this in a jumper and tights."

"I don't feel the cold, it doesn't bother me at all. I love this weather. It's way better than an unbearably hot and sweaty summer"

"If you say so."

A call came from the right of them outside one of the workshops at the edge of the village center. "Welcome back Kimiko, Hello Yuuga" a middle-aged man waved at the two of them and beckoned them over. "I see you got back from your trip safely"

"I- How did you?" I asked confused.

"Oh, come off it Kimi. You really think that the villagers didn't know about your little journey? You really thought the news wouldn't spread?"

"I- No I didn't think anyone knew-"

The man laughed heartily. "What you did takes some guts kiddo, but it all worked out in the end"

"Yeah... I guess so..." I trailed off, then realizing what he was getting at. "But I didn't have any part in solving the problem, more than anything I just got in the way-" I rushed in an attempt to clarify. Even so, I didn't really want to tell the man that I couldn't remember anything and was found unconscious. That would make me sound weak.

"Nonsense. You defied the law of the Soul Reapers, snooped past them, escaped, ran away from home and tried to solve a murder mystery, as far as I'm concerned that's bravery, good job." He patted me on the back.

Yuu scowled at the man for condoning my behavior... "But anyway, I was wondering if you would do me a favor"

"Sure-"

"Sorry, I can't today" Yuu cut in quickly. "I've got to pick up a few things from the Tailor's shop for Mother, I was going to take you with me Kimi but you can handle this alone, right?"

"It shouldn't be light work for our hero-in-training" The man chuckled heartily. I blushed and Yuu rolled her eyes. "I have an order from some clients at the edge of the district to the North, would you mind making a delivery for me? I would do it myself but with this ice underfoot is a nightmare for the cart-"

I gave him a thumbs-up. "Not a problem, you can count on me. I'm pretty fast so I can be there within half an hour"

"Thanks a lot, I'll pay you in cake when you get back" he chuckled again, heading off slightly into the doorway and picking up a long and thick package with straps on to fix it to my back.

I had never really spoken to the local carpenter but I did regularly do errands for his wife, who seemed to have made it her mission to fatten me up with sweet rewards.

I grimaced, getting fed up with sickly homemade devil's chocolate cake. "Thanks, but you don't need to pay me, especially not in cake. I'm gonna be too fat to train if I carry on eating at this rate"

"Hmm, then I'll carve you a little something or other as a thank you" he smiled again, handing it to me with a piece of paper for the address and location. "Careful now, it might be heavy. Its tough stuff but still be careful with it along the way, I don't want it to be damaged"

"Don't worry, I can handle this" I glanced at the paper and had a vague idea of where I was going, though I had never been quite that far south before, but was basically a straight road. "Ok then, I'll be off"

"Have a safe trip"

Yuu and I went our separate ways just down the road. I didn't have anything planned for the day so I was quite relieved to find something to occupy my time instead of wandering around the village enjoying the weather.

I headed out of the village and in the general direction of the address on the note wrapped inside the package. It was to a blacksmith who lives just out of town, but in these icy conditions, I knew it wouldn't be as easy as flash stepping all the way over there. The roads were more treacherous the further from the village I went.

I had been cautiously tiptoeing through a deep snow drift to avoid a patch of ice in the middle of the path, concentrating heavily and where I placed my feet and wishing I had chosen better shoes when suddenly something solid shot past my right ear missing me by inches and smashed like glass on a tree.

I watched it break into a million shimmering pieces. A solid brick of ice. I whirled around to see where it had come from but another one met me directly in the face.

I screamed in pain and fell to the floor, clutching my swollen, throbbing face. I couldn't see, the ice had blinded me. I tried desperately to wipe away my freezing tears and bring my clouded vision back into focus as I heard the crunch of footsteps ahead of me and someone's faint jeering.

"Would you look what wondered onto our turf, boys. The little bitch from Harumachi that everyone's been talkin' bout" I felt a hand grasp the top of my head firmly and turn my face to them with force. They took hold of my hair and hoisted me up. "Not so tough now are ya, Hero!?" there was more jeering from behind the speaker.

I couldn't see a thing so I knew I needed to rely on my other senses, though I couldn't seem to focus on much more than my pain and panic right now. Shooting pains in my nose were creeping past the icy numbness the ice had left on my skin.

 _ **Shit! What have I got myself into this time, I've heard that voice before!**_ I thought, trying to focus my mind but the guy's face wasnt coming to me.

"What do you expect!? You friggin' ambushed me, asshole!"

"But I thought Soul Reapers could sense when people were near?"

"I-" I began, but in fact he was right. I didn't expect these jerks to have any spiritual pressure that I would be able to sense and he probably didn't know that he needed it for me to sense them; but on the off chance that they did have some, I would have been able to sense them long before they saw me. They had obviously planned the attack from the moment of seeing me and done a good job of concealing themselves. For me to not notice I was being followed was a disgrace.

"I'm not a Soul Reaper" I said, hating the words.

He spat in my face and I flinched in disgust. "Then why are you pretending to be one and taking all the glory!?"

"I'm not pretending! I'm training to become a Soul Reape-" but my words were cut off why a fist to the stomach. I hadn't expected it and the impact winded me. I spluttered all over the one who was holding me and I coughed up something warm and coppery.

"Not a very good one, are ya?! You look pretty useless to me!" I couldn't get enough breath to reply. I wanted to curl up into a ball to ease the pain but I was forced to hang limply in mid-air, the pain in my stomach overwriting the pain on her face and scalp.

He suddenly let go of me and I dropped to the floor. Fresh, powdery snow flying into the air around me.

I felt another hit, this time a kick to the ribs. "That's for the first time we met"

Another to my back "That's for knocking me unconscious"

Another in far too quick succession be from the same person, there were more than three boys there.

"For beating me"

More from other people, one after the other I was struck all over my body.

In the mess of voices and jeering, the boys did not see what was happening to me. For the first time in months, my eyes rolled to the back of my head and that searing headache came to consume all of my senses, even the pain.

The voices were fading away as though they were being played on a distant radio and a film played across my eyes. Quick flashes of images sped past.

I was flat on my back on a sheet of ice wearing a black sailor-style school uniform, people laughing down at me. It changed again. I was sitting in a classroom with people laughing at the snowflakes in my hair, jeering the word 'dandruff' at my back.

Now I was cowering against a brick wall as countless people pelted sharp balls of snow and ice at me. The boy's voices in the real world seemed to dub them.

In the vision and adult came running towards me and the children bullying me scattered like cockroaches.

But the adult was dubbed by a new voice, a young man.

I never felt the last hit, but that was because it never came.

Back in the real world, a new person had arrived on the scene, this time wielding a wooden kendo sword. As he struck a blow to the leaders back and made him fall to the floor, the film began to fade away, the mix of voices and images becoming disconnected and no longer made sense.

My savior continued onto the others.

"I would never dream of hitting an unarmed person with my sword" he began "but what you just did was unforgivable, so I'll make exceptions. Hitting girls is unacceptable but actually beating them to this extent-" he never finished his sentence. He took all four of them on until they had finally realized that they were outmatched and retreated.

I only just heard him before my migraine crescendoed and swept me into blackness.

Once the attackers, their screaming and the loud crunches of footsteps in the snow were out of range the boy knelt down to the bloodied up girl who now lay in the snow, unconscious. He shook his head in disgust at her swollen face covered in blood, took his coat off and wrapped it around her, then gently lifted her up.

Before he turned away he spotted the large white wrapped package that had been roughly discarded by a tree. He raised an eyebrow and retrieved it before setting off.


	12. Reunited

Chapter 12 – Reunited

I woke a little under two hours later. At first, I was completely confused, then the incident came back into my mind as sharp as the ice ball that had started it. I felt my head and winced as the slightest touch on the bandages around my eye caused pain.

This time I was not in a Japanese style bedroom, but what from the inside looked like a warm and cozy log cabin overlooking a forest of lush, green bamboo.

I tried to prop herself up on the large fluffy pillows but received a stabbing pain in my back and ribs and stopped with a loud gasp. I choked on the pain and lay my head back again the bed frame. I hadn't yet noticed the woman in the far corner of the room.

She was short and plump, her vibrant auburn hair in elaborate ringlets, the polar opposite of Yoshino. She wore a brown and white polka dot dress and a white apron. It seemed as though she had been soaking fabric in a bowl of water but my cry of pain made her jump in her seat.

"Oh goodness dear, you shouldn't do that, you'll only cause yourself more discomfort. Sit still and rest" she said, coming over to fussily plump up another fat pillow and slip it behind my lower back. "It's a good job he found you when he did else you'd be in a far worse state than this," she said rushing back over to the bowl and bringing back a soggy white cloth. "Careful now, this might sting"

"Who found me? What happened? Where am- OUCH" I jumped as woman wiped the white rag across a deep cut on my ankle.

"I told you"

"Yeah, sorry... I didn't mean to kick you..."

"That's quite alright dear. In answer to your question, my son found you unconscious in the snow being beaten by a gang of local thugs. He brought you home immediately and I have been attending to your wounds ever since. Although it seems that you had intended to come here in the first place" she said, pointing to the long white package, leaning against a cupboard.

"Crap! My delivery"

"Calm yourself! You have delivered it, it was intended for this address" she said in a raised voice to calm me. She wiped another rag across a cut on my arm and then began to wrap bandages around my waist. "There. I think that's enough, but you should still rest for longer. You aren't going to be fit to move around for a while."

"But I have to get back to the village; my family will be worried about me"

"We will send word to your family, let them know where you are and that you are safe. Now sleep. Once you have had a long rest, I expect my son would like to speak with you"

I couldn't argue with this. I knew her family would still worry whether they knew of my condition or not. No doubt I would be grounded again for this, even though it wasn't my fault. Yuu would probably want to chain me up and never let me outside again, bad things just seemed to be attracted to me, and this so soon after the last incident…

But at the moment even turning my head hurt and I couldn't even summon the energy to attempt getting out of bed. I resigned to the fact that I may even have to spend the night here and lay my head back down.

"Thank you," she said to the woman, now with her back to her, draining the salt water that she had used to clean my wounds down the sink and cleaning up after herself.

"For looking after me I mean. I really appreciate it, especially as I'm a total stranger."

"It's not a problem dear. It's the least I could do for a daughter of our village's head family, not that I wouldn't do the same for anyone else!" She added quickly.

I froze and stared at her. "How did you-!?"

The woman pointed to the dark blue woolen jumper I had been wearing. I hadn't noticed that it was missing until now. It was hanging on a coat hook beside the door. I looked down underneath the white shirt I was wearing and saw that the woman had wrapped bandages around my bruised chest and then dressed me while I was out cold.

"The Murasaki family crest is on the neck of the jumper. Every specially made piece of clothing carries a family crest on the outside; it's an easy way to know who it belongs to. The Murasaki's are of course unmistakable around these parts."

I tapped my own forehead lightly. "Of course, the crest! I completely forgot. I never notice it; I just wear the clothes..."

The woman smiled warmly. It seemed that this whole time she had been judging me, possibly expecting me to be rude and ungrateful due to my high and wealthy position. But if she had thought that she had now changed her mind, seeing that I was just a normal girl like any other.

"Now rest. I'll be back later with soup. If you need me call for Iyase" and with that she left, snuffing out the lanterns on the wall.

I lay there staring out of the deep grey sky for a few moments before the warmth and softness of the sheet consumed me to sleep again.

Later that evening, when the sky had already turned pitch black, I was woken by Iyase again, who turned out to be the wife of the Blacksmith that my delivery had been bound for. The smell of hot chicken noodle soup and the warmth of a hot water bottle at my feet greeted me.

Iyase sat chatting to me for a while to keep me company explaining to me that "Hatsuka", which was the family name that the package was addressed to, was out at the moment and was not there to take the delivery so she had left it in the workshop, a larger and separate building behind the family home.

Of course, in no time at all the topic of conversation turned to my heroic deeds of the previous weeks. I was astonished by the increasingly farfetched stories of my journey had even reached these remote parts. Though I didn't mind talking about it to Iyase much.

She was such a lovely and kind woman, I didn't feel at all awkward in telling her the whole truth, or at least what I could remember of it. By the time I had concluded my story with the part of being interrogated just outside of the Seireitei, Iyase was on the edge of her chair almost spilling her hot chocolate. It seemed she had been dying to hear the truth about the gossip rumors that had been floating around.

I couldn't help but laugh. It seemed she didn't often have the chance for this kind of girl time or gossip, and indeed and a few minutes later a knock came on the door, announcing the arrival of her only child.

"Good heavens, we've been talking for so long that I forgot to tell him," she said, jumping to her feet and rushing to open the door.

In walked the boy that had saved her, wearing a dark green Hakama and a pale mint green shirt. Just peeking over his shoulder was a brown bamboo sword. Unlike his mother, he was tall and slim, with amber eyes instead of hazel ones, though he did have her oval face, almond-shaped eyes, and auburn hair. He looked to be no older than Yuu.

"Mother…" he sighed incredulously "Why are you disturbing her? She should be resting"

"I know dear, I got carried away but we did have a nice chat didn't we, Miss Murasaki?" she said while clearing up the surface where she had left her medicines and the bowl of salt water earlier.

"Yeah, we did. It's fine honestly. I'm feeling much better too" this was partly true. I no longer felt weak or exhausted thanks to that good long nap, but I still had many aching pains.

He sighed. He seemed to have quite a dull and business-like attitude, again unlike his mother's kind, bubbly and fussy one. "That's okay then. As long as you are well."

"Well. I'll leave you two to speak, call me if you need anything" Iyase smiled, leaving the room and pulling the door ajar behind her.

The boy removed his kendo sword and leaned it against the wall beside the door and then took his mother's seat beside my bed.

"You're lucky I fou-"

"Found me when you did." I finished his first sentence for him in a bored tone. I had heard that phrase far too many times already. "I know. Thank you very much. I know I'd be in much worse shape if you hadn't" I said inclining her head to him rather than bowing, bowing was far too painful. "I really owe you one"

The boy smiled. "So, what happened? Common sense tells me that you aren't the Murasaki heir; You are the adopted daughter that everyone is talking about. How did people like... that do this to you?"

I grimaced. He had voiced the same question that I had been wondering myself. "All I can say was that they took me by complete surprise. I wasn't paying attention and they took advantage of that. By the time they made their first move I was incapable of defending myself."

I didn't bother to explain that I had had running's with them in the past, but by the way that he said 'people like that,' they seemed to be notorious around here.

"I see. If I'm not mistaken, you are training to become a Soul Reaper?" he snapped me out of my thoughts.

I gritted her teeth. "I was… But if things like this are going to happen I'll be a sorry excuse" I hissed, more to myself than him. "I can use my Spiritual energy for pretty useful things, but I can't sense others'. What use is that? I need more training; I need to work harder." There was an awkward pause. "Wait a minute… how did you get those guys away from me? Are you a Soul Reaper?"

The boy gave a snort as if to say, 'as if'.

"I wish I was a Soul Reaper. No, I stopped them with my kendo sword. A couple of hits was enough to scare them, and they ran for it, spineless cowards. Then I carried you back here. Luckily we're not too far from where I found you"

I stared at the sword next to the wall, a new thought washing over her. It was unmistakably a Kendo training sword made from Bamboo. "You practice Kendo?"

The boy nodded. "Since I was very young. My father not only crafts weapons and tool but owns a Dojo. He practiced since he was a child and taught me."

"I was told by a Soul Reaper than I would need to learn to use a sword as soon as possible…"

"Well of course. The Zanpakuto is the Soul Reapers main weapon. If you can't use a sword you're useless" Those words stabbed at me like real swords, though I was surprised by the extent of his knowledge. He knew that the swords were called Zanpakuto's?

I hesitated a moment before next speaking.

"Can I ask you a favor-"

"You can just call me Hatsuka." The boy said sharply, getting the hint from my voice that she didn't know what to call him. Of course, this guy was not to type to automatically be on first name terms with someone like me and Yuu.

"Hatsuka. I have my spiritual training down, but I don't have a clue where to start with sword training… You are the first and only person I have met who uses a sword…" I hesitated again. I found the strength to lean up, turn my feet sideways out of bed and stand. I sunk into a deep bow. "Would you please consider training me? I feel as though you are my only hope of achieving my dream of becoming a Soul Reaper!"

Hatsuka stared at me blankly. Being the top in his Kendo club he had had many people approach him in search of a mentor but never had he come across someone with some much passion and determination. Then the usual twinge of pain hit his heart when he thought of those black robes and the sword. In his mind's eye, he saw himself in Kimi's position, bowing deeply to a black-robed, faceless figure. Memories, feelings, and anxiety came flooding back to him, then he heard Kimi's voice again.

"It's okay, I understand if that's a bit too much to ask of you-"

"No." He said quite firmly, cutting off my sentence. I looked up. No to what? I wondered, holding my breath in hope.

His eyes looked slightly glassy as though he was looking, but not seeing. He blinked, and his tone softened slightly "No, it's not too much. I'll do it."

I straightened up in excitement and felt a muscle pull in my side. "I can see how much it means to you, so I'll help. I'm not promising any results though. I'm not a qualified teacher"

I nodded, rubbing my side. "That's fine. I'm not expecting you to make me the best swordswoman in the world in an instant, I'm just grateful for a starting point. Thank you" I went to bow again but Hatsuka put a hand on my shoulder.

"Lie back down already before I change my mind." He said impatiently, turning away from me.

I smiled at his back. I had got over excited and overdid it again.

"Get a good night sleep and we'll see how you are in the morning. If you are fit to move, I'll take you back home."

I was about to ask about the training, but Hatsuka seemed to have read my mind.

"We can discuss your training another time, there's no point arranging anything until you are in better condition."

"Right." I wondered for a moment if I should call him Sir or Sensei out of respect, but I decided that might be overkill at this point.

Hatsuka got up to leave, taking his sword with him, nodded as a goodbye and left the room.

The next morning dawned bright and windy. The dark snow clouds had passed over now and the sun shined blindingly down on the paths that were now covered by thick, solid ice.

My pains had subsided for the most part and but large patches of angry black and purple bruising covered my skin. If I moved slowly it didn't hurt much and by the look of those treacherous paths, we would have no choice but to move slowly on our way back to the village.

I dressed quickly into my own slightly torn blue jumper, a new pair of thick black tights that Iyase had left out for me and a pair of snow boots with grips on the sole. I was careful not to move any of the bandages still wrapped around me.

As I walked to the door I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror on the wall and felt sick. My face still felt tender and sore but I had no idea how purple and swollen it actually was, with tiny cuts healing all over it. I looked like some sickening creation from a horror movie.

I swore loudly and vowed to get those guys back if ever I saw them again.

I felt awkward at the thought of wandering around an unfamiliar house in search of Hatsuka or Iyase, just in case I bumped into someone I didn't know or got lost, so I took to staring out of the window at the dense forest of bamboo while I waited for someone to call on me.

Eventually, Hatsuka came to wake me up, this time wearing a Hakama in royal blue. He seemed surprised that I was already awake and dressed.

"Early? This isn't early" I laughed moving away from the window steadily. "This is pretty late for me; I would have been up for at least two hours already usually"

"That's good to know. At least I don't have to force you to get up for training early every morning."

I had a feeling he would be quite a strict teacher, but I was no stranger to early mornings and hard work.

"So, are you well enough to go home?"

"Yes. As long as I move slowly I'll be fine" I spotted his raised eyebrow. "Not that we can move quickly anyway, have you seen those paths? You've got a death wish if you wanna power walk on that skating rink"

"Fine. Come and have some breakfast and then we will leave."

I wolfed down the breakfast, a delicious cheese, and bacon omelets like I had never eaten before. Yoshino had always ensured that I ate at least three meals a day to build up my energy. The last thing anyone wanted was for me to collapse from lack of spirit energy, but I had only eaten a tiny breakfast yesterday morning, a small bowl of soup late last night and missed evening dinner completely.

Once done we both said goodbye to Iyase and I thanked her again for her hospitality.

"My pleasure dear, do visit again!"

"I will" I smiled back, and we departed.

We walked out of the property and up the mountain that I had taken for half hour or so. In flash step, it had taken me around thirty minutes for the complete journey, but it took them almost two hours walking on fresh ice. The first leg of the trip was down an incline too, we spent ages hugging the cliff side rocks like our lives depended on it. After that Hatsuka managed to catch me before I could fall flat on her butt at least five times.

As we approached the front doors of the Murasaki manor, they flung open and Yuu came flying out at them looking livid, closely followed by Yoshino, then Shinsetsu.

"Uh... Hey there" I said uncertainly, recoiling slightly.

"Can't you go anywhere without hurting yourself? Why do you always go looking for trouble, huh? One of these days-" Yuu began to rant, stomping towards me. I waved my hands out in front of me as if to shield myself from a wasp's nest. Evidently, my family had received the message and seemed more angry than worried. "You can't even go on a delivery without getting into trouble. What do we have to do to keep you safe? Tie you on a leash and walk you around like a dog?!"

"Wait! No, you've got it all wrong! I didn't go looking for trouble this time, trouble found me!" I looked around at Shinsetsu and Yoshino helplessly, as if pleading them to believe me. They didn't speak or attempt to come to my defense, just stared at me quite expressionlessly as if to say, 'This is your battle.'

I turned to Hatsuka for help. "Right?" He had been standing back at the entrance hesitantly, not wanting to enter the grounds of the home. He seemed to be trying to worm out of view so not to get caught up in the drama. He jumped at the sound of his name. "Uh... That's right, Miss Murasaki did nothing to provoke the fight" he said, as though he had been addressed to give a statement by a commanding officer.

This wasn't entirely true. No one else knew about the time by the river with those boys, only that one Soul reaper called Kaien, who I hadn't seen for many months.

Yuu seemed to forget all about her rage the moment she laid eyes on Hatsuka. She seemed momentarily stunned. "Hatsu? It that you?" She asked stepping forward and looking him up and down as to examine him thoroughly.

Hatsuka nodded and bowed to her. "It's been a long time, Lady Yuuga"

She blinked in surprise and I could swear I saw a pale blush creeping onto her cheeks as she inclined her head back.

"I-... yes it's been a long time indeed. I didn't realize you still lived around here."

He simply nodded and offered no explanation. I looked between the two, just as confused as my parents. However, understanding seemed to bloom across Yoshino's porcelain face within seconds.

"Thank you for bringing Kimiko home, Hatsuka. Give our regards to your family for us, won't you?"

He bowed again. "Yes ma'am, glad to be of service" I was thoroughly irritated by all the formal talk now. I raised an eyebrow and shook my head but he didn't loosen up any.

As Yoshino and Shinsetsu re-entered the house, Hatsuka seemed to be considering leaving too, until Yuu invited him inside.

At first, he politely declined, then I reminded him about arranging a time and date.

It seemed that my sister took this to mean something else entirely. Her cheeks puffed up angrily and she entered another flustered tantrum. Though she still joined us into the living room as if wanting to know what was going on between us.

"So, when do you think we should start?" I asked, warming my hands up with a cup of tea.

"Well, we certainly can't start until your injuries are healed. I can see how much it pains you to move too suddenly. So, first thing is first: Contact me when you have recovered enough to train again. Secondly: We need to find somewhere to train. I don't expect you to have a dojo?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No, but I think my courtyard is big enough to train in..."

"Very well, as long as you don't mind a few bumps and scraps from the hard stone floor."

"That's just part of the training" I shrugged.

"Waaaait wait wait wait waaaait" Yuu suddenly piped up, holding her hand in the air as if to silence a crowd of people. "So, Hatsuka is training with you? Does that mean..." She looked questioningly at him. I didn't understand this, but he seemed to. He shook his head and Yuu sighed.

"Do you two know each other?" I asked. It was obvious they did but I wanted detailed.

The two glanced at each other for a split second.

"We're old acquaintances" Hatsuka smiled.

"You could say that," Yuu said in unison.

They looked at each other and away again. "Anyway," Hatsuka said, raising his voice to forcibly change the conversation "Unless you can find an indoor or sheltered area for us to train, I think it would be best to wait for winter to end. The ice and snow is an inconvenience."

I felt like rushing outside into the snow, hugging it and saying 'He doesn't mean it, baby, ignore him!' but I managed to hold myself back. Why did so many people hate winter? I must be the only person who loves it.

"You have a dojo at your house, don't you?" I asked instead.

"Yes, my home does have a dojo but traveling to my house at the crack of dawn every morning will no doubt result in more trouble and injuries for you. I am not nearly as accident prone as you so it would be best if I do the traveling" he said abruptly and Yuu snorted in laughter.

I puffed my cheeks like an upset hamster but couldn't argue the point.

After downing his tea quickly Hatsuka bowed, thanking us for allowing him inside our manor house in the most formal way possible, just to irritate me even more and then left.


	13. An Unexpected Occasion

Chapter 12 – An Unexpected Birthday

Winter seemed to get gradually worse and worse over the next few weeks. My enthusiasm for the snow had been overwritten by excitement to begin training; So when the weather didn't improve at the end of February, which was the general time of year for winter to fade out, I was certain that the karma was out to jinx me.

One week at the beginning of February the snow was so deep that no one could open their doors without it spilling inside.

I had been passing through the halls of the manor as a cheerfully unsuspecting Shin had opened the main door on his way into the town and been swallowed by an avalanche falling on top of him.

He had come sailing magnificently past me as I descended the stairs, waving his arms and squealing. Admittedly this was hilarious, but I got assigned to clean up duty as a punishment for laughing instead of helping him.

Every time Yuu had seen her father since then she had done an impression that looked something like a puffer fish with flailing frog legs.

So, I was stuck indoors once again. My injuries had finally healed but I couldn't even send mail by to Hatsu via carrier pigeons due to the gale force winds and not being able to leave the Manor.

In this time, I took to controlling my spiritual energy in my dismally boring bedroom again seeing as there was nothing else to do. Not that I really needed to, I could summon the light instantly now.

I also found, entirely by accident, that I could stand on walls and vertical surfaces. One evening the door to my bedroom seemed to be jammed shut by ice. I rested one foot on it and pulled, but it didn't work. Apparently subconsciously, I rested the other foot and found myself standing vertically without support, my feet glowing a pale white. Then I realized I had been turning the handle the wrong way and pretended the whole thing never happened.

I also once swore that in my deeply concentrated meditation state that I had sensed Granny Chie passing my bedroom via the inside corridor, which we were now using instead of the outside hallways.

I wasn't sure if this meant that I Granny Chie had a small amount of spirit energy, allowing me to sense her, or if my basic sense were just sharpening with practice.

In Mid-April winter finally ended, more than a month later than forecasted.

I awoke one morning and got a real shock. My outside door was ajar as if someone had recently entered. A sliver of warm spring sunlight crept through the gap... onto a huge pile boxes at the foot of my bed, wrapped neatly in colorful, patterned washi paper. I was completely bewildered for a minute until I read a small card attached to one of the gifts:

Happy birthday Kimiko, With lots of love, from Yoshino.

"Birthday? What the-" then it dawned on me. This time last year, I had been waking up in this very same room for the first time. I remembered Shinsetsu's exact words at dinner that night.

"I guess you could call it a birthday, today is the day you joined us."

I got up and opened my door fully. The day wasn't quite the same as last year. The winter had been so harsh that many plants, crops, and flowers had been killed, and the cherry blossom in my garden was only just beginning to show signs of bloom. But the warmth of the sun was the same as that time. "Today... Is my birthday..." I mumbled. Then smiled brightly and began to unwrap my presents. I had so many thoughts flowing through my head as I unwrapped the smallest ones first. I soon found myself having a small identity crisis.

Was today really my birthday? It couldn't be my real birthday; I couldn't remember anything from my previous life so how could I know when I had actually been born... Did I really deserve all these presents?

A little voice that sounded like my conscience spoke to me. **_Yes, yes you do deserve them. That was then, and this is now. Today is the day you arrived here, the day this life began. That life no longer exists._**

"Yeah... that's right." I agreed with the voice.

Then another thought crossed my mind. How old am I? One-year-old? or seventeen years old? That was what I felt my age must be based on my appearance.

I tapped myself lightly on the cheek. "Stop overthinking things, idiot!"

Then a shadow passed my outside door and knocked on the wood. "Kiiimiii, are you awake?" Yuu sang.

"Yeah, come in"

Yuu entered looking bright and cheerful in a pale lemon-yellow Kimono, and without warning dived on top of me. "D'aaaawwh! Haaappy birthdaaaay!" She cheered, smothering me with hugs.

I laughed and hugged her back. "Thanks, Yuu"

"Have you opened any presents yet? Can I watch?" She asked excitedly.

"Of course, c'mon let's get these open, there's a lot to go through... Who could they all be from...?"

"Tsk. They are from the villagers, dummy!"

I looked at her, startled. "Why would the villagers send me presents?"

Yuu sighed "Oh I don't know, maybe because you've helped everyone out so much over the past year," she said with a hint of sarcasm. "They like you"

She was right. I was given a huge violet coloured birthday cake with a lemon sponge and raspberry jam filling by the woman at the bakery, a bouquet of beautiful purple and blue flowers and a small bonsai tree to take care of by the florist (I set these aside as I felt her eyes watering and nose beginning to itch) and a set of black and purple hairpins in the shape of the Murasaki crest by the tailor.

The physician gave some tea leaves that were said to have energy restoring properties, though in the birthday card he had advised me to only take them on particularly busy days when you really needed a boost of energy.

There was a P.S:

'Good luck, we know you can do it!'

I glowed at this. It was so nice to have the support of so many people. I put the herbs in the top drawer of my desk and continued on.

I also got many sweets and savouries from other people which I was determined to eat responsibly, only when I needed energy. I left the larger presents till last.

The rectangular package in a pale pink paper from Yoshino turned out to be an exquisite Kimono, in a pale teal blue with magenta, and white flowers and petals and pale green swirling vine patterns. The belt was a vibrant orange with the same swirling vines in a darker orange and magenta padding underneath.

"Wooow..." I sighed, lifting it out of the tissue paper. "This is beautiful... I think I'll be too scared to wear it..."

Yuu laughed. "Yeah, I was too," she said raising her arms to the side so that hanging sleeves of her kimono hung down. "Mom bought this for me too. You don't have to wear it right now, save it for a special occasion if you like, but I just love mine so much I wanted to wear it right away" she laughed giving me a twirl.

"It looks cute on you!" I agreed "But yeah, I'll save mine" I packed it up carefully and put it on a high shelf in my closet.

I had been eyeing up the last two packages curiously. The first one left her stunned. The carpenter had offered to carve me something as a thank you, and now I knew why he hadn't given me anything. He had evidently spent months carving a large wooden model of the Soul Reaper academy for me.

All of the buildings, lakes, training grounds and trees were, I assumed, the correct position. I stared at it in awe. It was so incredibly detailed that I knew he had gone out of his way to visit the place itself in order understand what it really looked like. The only bit I had seen for myself was the monumental front entrance and courtyard, and it was exactly as I remembered it. "Wow, that's amazing... How did he know though?"

"He called me and mom over one day while you were shopping and asked what sort things you liked, we told him and mentioned your birthday... But I must say he really outdid himself"

"No kidding, I really need to thank him when I go into the village... And everyone else too"

Then I came to the last one, though the shape of it gave me an idea of what it could be.

"Who's it from?" Yuu asked curiously, shuffling closer on her knees.

I read the card attached to it aloud:

"Happy birthday. I apologize for not keeping in touch, but I'm sure you understand. This should aid you in training; Perhaps it will boost your confidence? Take care of it. Reply when you are ready to begin.

-Hatsuka."

Inside, as the box shape had led me to guess, was a kendo sword; But not like the one Hatsuka had been using.

It was sheathed like a real sword, with a plain black, shiny sheath that had a white ribbon tied at the top below the hilt. I unsheathed it slowly and saw that it was made of a darker colored ebony wood and in the shape of a real Soul reaper's Zanpakuto, including the black hilt and black braid on the handle.

I couldn't take my eyes off it. It actually felt like I was holding my own real Zanpakuto.

I lifted it and swung it lightly, but not too much for fear of breaking something or poking Yuu in the eye.

I suddenly felt more professional, stronger and in a way more grown up. Had this been what Hatsuka had meant by confidence? If so it had certainly worked.

Yuu had been gazing open-mouthed at the sleek sword.

"Wow, Kimi! That's so nice of Hatsu, you must thank him!"

"Of course, I will. Pass me some paper, top draw to the left" I instructed and Yuu dipped into my writing desk, retrieving some note paper.

I wrote:

Hatsuka, thank you so much for the present, I am amazed and grateful! Ready whenever you are.

-Kimiko

I scribbled hastily and passes it to Yuu who was now examining the academy model with great interest.

"Could you go and send this to Hatsuka for me please?"

"This place is huge" she mumbled to herself. "Kimi you're going to get lost when you join this place! Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'll go now" she snatched up the letter and left.

At Mid-Day a knock my bedroom door announced the arrival of a maid, who had come to tell me I had a visitor.

Of course, I knew right away it must Hatsuka. Sure enough, he stood in the front entrance to the manor, hovering awkwardly as though he was cautious of touching anything.

"Hatsu," I said as I approached and held out a hand for him to shake. "I didn't expect you to come some early"

He simply smiled and accepted the shake. "I am as eager to train as you so I came along right away. Shall we?"

I nodded and led him through the inside hallways and out onto the courtyard in front of my bedroom. He sat on the steps while I quickly ran in to retrieve my sword.

"Oh, before you come out change into these," he instructed, slipping a neatly folded purple and white package into the edge of my doorway.

I glanced at him questioningly. "You don't expect to be training in that do you?" he asked with raised eyebrows. I had slipped on a short orange Yukata before coming to meet him. "You won't be able to move well. Comfort and ease of movement are critical in kendo. Those will give you much more freedom."

I quickly changed into the Hakama. The dark purple trousers were a little loose around my waist and the light violet shirt was a little baggy under my arms, but nothing too serious to affect my movement.

"That's much better. You can keep that set; Consider it another birthday gift from my mother. She didn't know it was your birthday until I sent your gift last week, she insisted I give you those."

I grinned. "My favorite colors too, thank her for me"

I had been disappointed to find that I wouldn't be learning any moves just yet.

Hatsu spent what felt like hours in a long explanation of Kendo. He started by saying that kendo is not something that can be learned and mastered overnight. It takes years of intense dedication and training, and even then there will always be someone who is better than you and there are always ways to improve.

Then reminded me that Kendo was just a starting point for my training, as Zanjustu, the lesson of sword fighting at the academy would be a lot different and more brutal.

"When you are fighting as a Soul Reaper you will not be following the rules and techniques of kendo, though perhaps they will come handy. Kendo only has one type of sword for instance. Also, the swords do not have powers and stages of power"

This completely threw me off course. "Whooaa whoa whoa, what do you mean by different types, powers, and stages?"

"You mean you do not know? Have you not done any research into Soul reapers?"

"Of course I have, but I just researched things that I already to learn more details. I can't research things that I don't know even exist…"

He gave a deep sigh. "There are some books in the library on the subject that can give a better explanation than I can, but for now I'll give you the basics. Sit-" he said pointing to a particularly large rock next to the pond. He settled on the stairs in front of my door putting his sword beside him.

"Where should I start… Right. As I'm sure you know, every officer of the Thirteen Court Guard squads has to go through the academy before entering service. Upon entering they are given a sword, which with more training becomes their Zanpakuto.

To put it plainly, these swords contain a piece of their owner's inside. Their mind, soul, power, spirit energy, personality etc. It is part of them, at one with them. Each Zanpakuto is unique with its powers and abilities. These powers are unleashed by calling on the spirit inside the sword, though there are two stages. Bankai, the last stage, can only be achieved by powerful and talented officers, usually those of captain rank, after many years of training.

There are different types of swords that require different fighting styles. So, swords may be more like long swords, some may not even be swords at all, but clubs, spears or something entirely different. Some swords require ranged combat as opposed to close combat, and some are entirely Kido based."

My brain was spiraling out of control at this point. There was so much to take in at once.

"Kido?" I asked hesitantly.

"Uh… Spiritual based powers, kind of like magic. There are set kido's spells with set ranks and numbers that require incantations to cast. If you have a Kido based Zanpakuto you may never have to actually strike anyone with a sword. And this is why I will warn you now, that you may practice kendo and Zanjustu for many years and find, when you finally get your Zanpakuto, that you never have to swing a sword ever again and that training has been a slight waste of time."

I stared at him. Was he trying to discourage me?

"But wouldn't it be best to just learn anyway? If I do have a Kido type Zanpakuto then at least I know other techniques. They could come handy at some point. If I don't bother learning and then find that I do need to learn to use a sword… I would be behind… Either way, learning to use a sword can only be a benefit"

"Correct. I'm just giving you pre-warning so that you aren't disappointed in the event that it does happen to you."

Yuu wondered into the hall and leaned against a wooden pillar in the corridor opposite us, munching on a Rice ball, her cheeks inflated like an overweight hamster.

"Yeez, Jou guyz aw awll tawk no ackshun huh?" she garbled. She swallowed and almost choked.

"Yuu, small bites dear" I chanted, imitating Yoshino's usual dinner time lectures to Yuu about not stuffing herself and having some table manners.

"Oh, shut up." She said blushing slightly. Hatsuka was staring determinedly at a Koi fish that had just surfaced in the pond. "I thought the idea of training was to actually pick up those sticks and beat each other up with them, not sitting around gossiping"

"Training isn't all practical. You need to be mentally prepared too, which includes knowledge. I have been explaining a few things to Kimiko"

"Uhm." I agreed. "These things aren't as simple as they look Yuu"

"Ohhh?" she asked curiously "I may come and listen in on a few of these training lessons. They sound interesting" she asked, tilting her head slightly as she gave a bright smile. The effect was instant. Yuu suddenly looked much… sweeter? Adorable even. I could swear that Hatsuka had noticed this then continued staring at the unchanging pond in fascination.

"No? Well, I'll leave you to it then. I'll check to see if you're both still alive later" she said with a wave as she turned away.

"Bring food and drinks with you!"

She waved her hand in the in acknowledgment of the request.

"Lady Yuuga is right to some extent. I have given you my warning and I will help you find those books in the library, but for now, we should actually get on with some training."

My hope suddenly soared but were at once shot down again.

Hatsu began their 'Physical training' by showing me how to stand and how to hold a sword correctly.

I was sure he was just being really picky. Constantly altering my stance and the position of my hands, shoulders and the height of my outstretched arms. I personally couldn't see what difference it made, but I kept my patience in check and did as he said. After all, he knew what he was doing and had many years of experience.

Yuu came with more rice balls and fruit juice as the sun began to set, but before long Hatsu was announcing the end of today's session.

"Well, that's it for today. A little progress is better than none at all, but it will be useless if you don't keep it up, even when I'm not around. You must not slack off or lose interest, understood?"

I nodded "Yes… Sir" she added quickly. Hatsuka actually smiled sincerely at this, brighter than he ever had before. It seemed that he had quite enjoyed the company and the fact that he was her superior and in charge of me.

"Well then, same time tomorrow?"

"Sound's good to me. Don't worry I'll be up way before you arrive" I added, knowing what he was about to say.

"Very well. Goodnight. Goodbye, Lady Yuuga" he said bowing to us and leaving. We watched his retreating back and I had to pull Yuu out of the way so I could shut the door.

"Hello? Anyone home? What's up with you? You've been in a world of your own all day"

"Oh… Oh, it's nothing. I'm sleepy, yeah, bad night's sleep that's all" she mumbled then wandered off to her room absently mindedly.

I stared at her, shaking my head and wandered off to do my own thing before bed.


	14. The Water Dancer

Chapter 14 - The Water Dancer

The more I thought about our first training session, the more my respect for Hatsuka grew. At first, I had the impression that training me was an inconvenience to him based on some of his mannerisms. But now I knew that was not the case.

If that was the case he would have just picked up the sword and hit me continuously until I picked up a few tricks and be done with it, but he hadn't. He had gone out of his way to come to me early each morning, even after not speaking with me for a few weeks.

He had warned me not to get my hopes up on the training in case it was no use to me in the future, he'd taught me information that I had no idea about and given me the uniform and a personalized sword as a gift. And of course, if he didn't want to do it he could have just said no in the first place.

He may be stern-faced and serious but his actions showed his true colors. He just wasn't the type to show that he cared outwardly. But that whole impression him soon changed for the worse.

As he had promised he had returned the following day and eight o clock, sharp. At first, I was confused to find a huge pile of leather-bound books hovering in my face when I opened the door, then I recognized the auburn hair peeking over the top of the stack.

I rushed him in and helped him around the long corridors to my room before his arms snapped from the strain.

"There. These should have most of the things you need to know" he said, placing the mountain of leather and stitching on my desk. "You're in no rush to give them back either, keep them for as long as you like."

"Thanks a lot, I had no idea how much I didn't know until yesterday"

"Then make studying as big a part of your training as Kendo."

"I plan to. So, what are we doing today?"

"I think first we'll make sure your posture and grip are right and then move you on to some simple steps and movements. Nothing too advanced"

And once again, we spent what felt like hours in 'perfecting my stance'. Finally, when the sky was turning a dusty orange Hatsu announced that I had made a lot of progress but today's session was over.

It continued like this for a few weeks and I began to lose the very little patience I had. I had never had a reason to get mad or impatient before now, so only now was I feeling that horrible sensation of blood rising through my body like steam at boiling point whenever Hatsuka accused me of slacking off or not trying hard enough.

We stood face to face, holding our swords out in front of us gripped tightly in both hands, staring each other down. Sweat was dripping down our backs are foreheads under the intense midday, late spring sun. This was one of those occasionally hot, summery days and I was hating it even after only being outside for ten minutes.

A thin strand of midnight purple hair drooped down into my eye, not being long enough to tie back into the high ponytail that I always wore for practice. I flicked my eyes towards the strand for just a moment a blew it out of my view and Hatsu took that opportunity to strike.

I was shocked by the suddenness of his movement and the speed at which he ran. I barely had time to react, but instinctively slashed down with my sword as if to hit him on the head. This left my upper body self-complaining unprotected and he took the moment to slice down on my right shoulder.

I gave a yell of pain and crumpled to my knees, clutching my throbbing shoulder. Yuu sprang to her feet with a gasp and rushed to me in an instant.

"Kimi!" She called, kneeling at my side and wrapping her arms around me in comfort. "Are you okay?"

I did not answer but inhaled through clenched teeth with my eyes scrunched shut. Yuu pulled the collar of my lilac hakama shirt down to reveal a seething red line reaching down to my collar bone and upper back.

She looked up Hatsuka, her eyes narrowed in anger. "What were you thinking? You could have broken her collarbone, you idiot!"

Hatsuka's face was void of expression. "If she had not been distracted she would have had time to react and defend herself. Distraction and lack of concentration are two of the biggest mistakes in combat."

"That is no excuse for you to intentionally hurt her!"

"And do you think that an enemy would allow an opportunity like that to pass by? If I'd have been an enemy she would be dead by now."

"Oh give it a rest!" She snapped briskly turning her back on him and helping to steady me to my feet.

"Thanks, Yuu, I'm okay" I whimpered, tears in my eyes but determined not to cry and let Hatsu see weakness.

"Oh yeah, you look fantastic. Lets go find someone to patch you up" practice began to steer me away when Hatsuka spoke again. His tone was completely remorseless and cold.

"You aren't trying hard enough, Kimiko."

I turned and Yuu relaxed her grip. "You know, right now I couldn't give a shit what you think, Hatsu. I'm sick of you being so harsh and unfair, you said it yourself. These things take time and yet you are rushing me so I'm making mistakes... I'm getting nowhere... Give me a break already" I went to turn away again.

"And at the rate, you are progressing you will be reaching old age before you are even ready to considering applying to the academy," He said to my retreating back. "You are nowhere near good enough. Your footwork is sloppy, you have slow reflexes and reaction and you find it hard to concentrate-"

My anger suddenly peaked and I rushed to justify herself in a raised voice. "And any other, decent teacher would concentrate on my week points individually until I improved, not point out the bad things as they happen but refuse to help. I'm sick of it. You're no teacher, just a bully who enjoys being the boss and being stronger."

Now it was his turn to look angry. "That's nonsense, I'm trying to help you. Treat me with some respect"

"No, you are nonsense! No teacher purposely hurts their students. I have no respect for you, you can shove your lessons here the sun doesn't shine! I don't need your 'help'!"

And with that, I threw my black sword down to the floor at his feet with such force that a crack appeared at the join of the guard and blade.

Yuu stared at me as a stormed away back into the house and out of sight, still clutching my aching shoulder.

The remaining two stood in an awkward silence for a moment. Yuu looked at him, her emerald eyes watery and full of disappointment. She shook her head lightly and jogged off to find her sister.

Hatsuka bent down and picked up the damaged sword. It was such a well-crafted piece of equipment; It would be a shame to leave it broken. He tightened his grip on it, narrowing his eyes as he started to feel a slight pang of guilt.

"I understand now, Ashido." He muttered quietly.

The memory of his own, child voice reverberated in his own mind.

"Why are you so mean?! You're supposed to help me!" he could hear his younger self, complaining just as Kimi had done.

"It seems you're too young to understand. One day when you have your own student-"

But he shook his head and forced himself not to remember that voice.

Nothing of Hatsuka, training, kendo or Soul Reapers was mentioned by anyone in the manor over the next few days.

I couldn't get the memory of him counting off all of my faults so harshly out if my head. I knew I had faults but they were silly things that I could easily improve on with practice, but Hatspracticeuka never gave me chance, only condemned me in an instant every time I made a mistake.

I finally concluded one night that my life would be much less stressful without him around and that I would be able to start training alone now that I had gotten a push in the right direction.

Though I found that having a partner made things a lot easier. I stood in my yard for hours on end slashing at thin air, lunging forward and swiping in different motions with a large, thick stick that I had found in the forest the day after Hatsuka left. But it just didn't feel as though I was getting anywhere.

"You know" Yuu piped up one morning when watching me from the steps outside of my bedroom, munching on toast "You could just contact him and apolo-"

"And there's more chance of it snowing in hell" I snapped back before she even finished her sentence. "I'm not the one who should be apologizing so don't even go there"

Yuu held her hands aloft as though she was at gunpoint. "Okay, okay. It was just as a suggestion. I'm sure he would agree if you asked him"

I was surprised to hear this from her after seeing how angry she had been when he hurt me, but Yuu didn't hold grudges like I did, she was quick to forgive.

I sat down with my legs crossed on the dusty cobblestone floor of the yard and took a long gulp of water, starting to think that this was a lost cause. Then I remembered with another pang of anxiety what he had said about me having bad footwork and had a sudden idea.

I sprang to my feet, startling Yuu. "I'm running into town, I'll be back soon" And without waiting for an answer I discarded the stick and hurried away.

Yuu blinked in surprise "Uh...'kay, ... See you later then"

I returned little over an hour later with a box full of evenly cut, cylindrical wooden logs and a coil of rope, though I didn't announce my return. If I said hello to anyone I would end up getting caught up in something else slacking off, and I really couldn't afford to do that when I was onto such a good idea.

I thought that if I had objects flying at me at high speed I could work on dodging them. So I made a trip to the carpenter's shop for advice and materials. All I had to do was string these logs up in a tree and set them swinging when I was in position. Simple enough.

Now, all I needed was a place to do it.

I knew that there was a very rarely used walkway around the back of the house that led to some old overgrown gardens in the woods. It seemed like the perfect place. An abundance of overgrown trees that blocked the light in a quiet, peaceful, unused part of the town.

I set up camp not far from an old pond with a viewing pavilion that was overgrown by lily pads, ivy, and weeds.

It took me a little while to get used to it, even though the logs were only swinging slowly. I had placed them at frequent intervals so there would only a couple of seconds delay between swings in which I could dodge left or right.

Eventually, they began to pick up speed and one of them barely missed my head. I stepped back, leaning my upper body backward, then jumped right and leaned forward from one that was going to hit me from behind. I made a move to my left again but my foot got caught on a twisted old tree root that was rising out of the ground and I went flying.

"Ugh. This is gonna take some practice" I winced, feeling a new bruise forming on my butt. I gave it a moment to judge the continuing motion patterns of the logs above me before pulling myself up and jumping right into it again.

I didn't give up. I got knocked down and trip over plenty of time but I always got back up. It was a hell of a lot more fun than being beaten with a wooden sword.

I returned there every day, feeling slightly guilty that I wasn't telling Yuu about it, it was mean to admit it but she was a bit of a distraction.

Soon enough, I felt as though my senses were sharpening. I could sometimes hear the rush of wind from an oncoming object or sometimes I could actually sense their presence. I had again thought that I was imagining it and my control of spirit energy wasn't at all improving, until one day I sensed a human presence.

"If I keep this up I'll break my record" I muttered to myself. I had been going for four minutes straight now with only a few mistakes, but no hits. I kept laughing loudly every time one of the logs narrowly missed me. Times like this made it quite exhilarating and addictive, like a fun game.

Suddenly, I sensed something. The only way I could explain it was like an electrical wave had passed over me from a northwesterly position.

But my concentration had been broken and a log came thunder down into my belly, winding me. I dropped and rolled out of the way, after a recent of experience of being hit once and then being ganged up on my angry logs I knew not to hover around after being wounded.

"Who's there?!" I called out with a splutter. There was no time to get my breath back, not if it was an enemy.

But to my bewilderment, a small, elder woman wearing an ivy green kimono descended the steps from the pavilion overlooking the overgrown pond.

"Granny Chie? What are you doing here?"

She smiled and gestured to gaps in the canopy above that let through sharp beams of sunlight. "Aahh, admiring this wonderful weather"

I raised an eyebrow. The weather was nowhere near as good as it was last week, and an overgrown grove wasn't the place to be enjoying it. Then I flushed a deep red. "Granny, have you been watching me?"

Chie gave a warm smile but did not answer. "Sit, child. I'll pour you some tea."

This felt somewhat awkward. In all of my time here I had only seen Granny at meals and occasionally in the corridors. We had never really spent any amount of time together. Why on earth would this quiet, little old lady be watching me?

I nodded and came to sit with her in the pavilion overlooking the lotus flowers.

Chie did not speak for another few minutes as she made rather a big deal of pouring the tea into elaborately decorated china cups, though I couldn't help but notice how graceful she was even in her old age.

"Drink up dear,"

"Thank you" another few moments silence. "Granny, why were you watching me?"

She lowered her tiny cup slowly and peered at me. I immediately dropped my gaze, feeling I might have overdone it.

"I was not watching you. I have often visited this place for many years and it seems as though you have set up camp" she said nodding at the training equipment I had spread out below the pavilion steps.

I snapped my head up again. "I'm sorry! I thought this place was abandoned, if I'd have known it was used I would have gone elsewh-" Chie held up a hand to silence me and I stopped quickly.

"If you were a problem you would have known about it long before now. No, dear. I must admit I find you fascinating" this announcement made me blush again.

"Fascinating in what way?"

"It had been a long time since I saw someone with such fire and determination as you, but not many of those people have the potential to match it"

I beamed. I never imagined that Chie would be capable of such compliments.

"But you are about as graceful as a drunken walrus." She finished bluntly.

I snorted and nearly sprayed tea everywhere. Not knowing what to say to this I just stuttered stupidly.

"Since your first days of training with that young man from the hills, I have passed by your quarters and I do believe that with the right push, you will be a splendid fighter." She sipped her tea again. "I would like to offer you some of my expertise"

Then something clicked. "Granny... We're you a Soul Reaper when you were younger?"

"Heavens, no dear. What makes you ask that?"

"You have Spiritual Pressure; I can sense you... When you pass by my room and in the corridors, I can feel your energy- And when you say expertise-"

"That is not the type of expertise that I speak of, though they are very similar in many ways."

I stared, trying to read the aged woman's expression. "By expertise I mean the art of dancing"

Immediately my eyes widened in horror. Me? Dancing? That was a ridiculous idea. I wasn't the type of person to prance around to music. If I was as graceful as a drunken walrus in training I would surely be worse at dancing.

"Ah, don't condemn something before you give it a chance"

"But I don't understand how dance and kendo are similar,"

Granny stood and beckoned me to follow her. She began to explain as we walked slowly back towards the manner through the close-knit trees. "After watching you I have seen that you are a hasty and impatient person. This is not a trait for someone who wishes to enter an art of this sort. In dance, you have no choice but to flow at the pace of the melody or the whole thing will fall apart. Every aspect must be perfect." She glanced down at me and my unconvinced expression.

She reached into her Kimono and pulled out a fan, the same green as her kimono and handed it to me.

"Did you know that in traditional Japanese dance items such as this are often used to represent swords?" She took it back from me and opened it out, the held her out flat, her thumb underneath and back of her hand facing upwards. She made some swishing movements and I watched in awe. How did you not drop the fan? "Traditional dances often portray stories of love and war and so fans are used to represent swords."

"So, what your saying is dance is like sword fighting, but more graceful?" Granny nodded. "Then I suppose if everything needs to be perfect, dancing would improve my movements and timings"

She nodded again. "And importantly, your patience. If you move too early to will miss a beat, just as being too early to attack could be a fatal decision."

"Then I have made a decision"

"Ah you are being hasty again, take time over decisions-"

"There's no need to. This means so much to me... I can't miss an opportunity like this... The quicker I improve the quicker I can-" but I stopped, remembering the whole reason I was so intent on this in the first place. Those visions of the three people in Soul Reaper in black uniforms and white captain cloaks with blurred faces and distorted voices, the ones who saved me.

"Very well then. If it is this important to you, we will begin" I nodded and followed.

Almost immediately Granny took me into her own living quarters, which I had never even been near before.

One room was large and spacious with a wooden floor which she expected she would be dancing in, but they passed by this room into another smaller closet sort of room.

It was dark with a small ceiling window, the walls lined by high mahogany shelves housing hundreds of neatly stacked rectangular brown boxes.

I was about to ask what these were when Chie retrieved one from a lower shelf near the door and ushered me out.

"That was my store of kimonos, all organized by color and value, seeing as most of them no longer fit or suit me, I will allow you to wear them" and I opened the box, handing her a folded pile of thin, beige material with white embroidery and a plain white belt.

"Wow, thank you," I said, feeling honored but not exactly looking forward to wearing the resisting, tight garments.

What made it worse was that I was expected to dance in shoes with ridiculously thick soles so I had to learn how to walk all over again, taking tiny shuffling steps like a toddler so not to slip up on the trailing fabric around my feet. This gave the effect of gliding along the floor with very little visible movement.

After a few days, I had progressed onto learning how to hold a fan and hand movements, and then onto learning a particular dance routine of Chie's choice.

Needless to say, I could no longer keep it from Yuu who demanded to know what I was hiding from her and where I was disappearing to for such long hours of the day. Yuu was furious and jealous at first, but when I explained the reasoning behind it she became more supportive.

Granny turned out to be just as strict a teacher as Hatsuka, but nowhere near as rude. I regularly dropped the fan I was holding, tripped or missed a step in the routine. Every time I did so, Granny would stop the music, walk over and drill into me exactly what the problem was, then make me repeat the whole dance leading up to that step until I was in perfect time with the music.

"Be a fluid as a river, as gentle as the wind" she said circling around me like a magpie eyeing up a particularly shiny jewel. "But as a swift as a shadow and strong as a mountain. Remember, dance is a performance. You need to play your part convincingly" I acted as though I was taking in this but really did not understand what she meant.

It was tiring and frustrating at times and would often put me in a foul mood, but when I arrived at the lessons in a bad mood granny would make me meditate for one hour, concentrating on my breathing which calmed me down every time without fail. I made a mental note of this and made sure to breathe whenever I was angry.

In my hours of rest and of the night time, I read through the books that HE (I refused to say his name) had brought me.

A few times I had been so bored that I had gone for a stroll and stumbled upon Granny playing guitar-like or harp-like instruments while sitting on a pillow in her corridor overlooking the garden. I had been so impressed that I had asked to have her teach me, but granny refused point blank to let her touch the instruments.

I found out later that one of the two instruments, the flat harp, was a Koto, the national instrument of Japan and the reason that Granny had ordered me and Yuu to fetch the wood of that specific tree so long ago. She had decided to make a new Koto which needed to be of this exact material.

Eventually, she gave in after seeing my interest and allowed me to learn using her old and slightly overused instruments after I fixed them with a little help from the village carpenter.

Granny certainly knew how to put pressure on me. I had spent a whole month now practicing one particular dance, and Granny had organized for Yuu, Yoshino, and Shinsetsu to come and watch the full dance in exactly three days' time. Yuu, as always with these sorts of events, was extremely excited and couldn't stop talking about it. Perhaps Granny had known this would happen to see how I dealt with pressure and if it would affect me. But my breathing technique was working wonders.

The day arrived, and besides being a bit shaky from nerves I was fine. After all, it was only my family that would be watching, not the whole village. If I did mess up they wouldn't be mad at me or laugh... I hoped.

To my surprise, the dance went extremely well and I didn't mess it up in the slightest. I felt as though looking into my families eyes would make me slip up, so instead, I imagined that they were all giant potatoes who weren't really watching me at all.

I had been dressed in an exquisite golden kimono and granny had even tied my hair up with a Clip of dangling chains of flowers and given me bright red lipstick to wear.

I remembered the things Granny had told me. Fluid as a river, light as rain, gentle as the wind, swift as a shadow, strong as a mountain, bright as a star. I tried to imagine water flowing as I moved and tried to put some emotion into the dance based on the lyrics, story, and meanings of the movements.

In the mirror I didn't look like myself at all, then it hit me. I was playing the part of the character in the lyrics of the song. I suddenly knew what Granny meant and I was no longer Kimiko, but as an unnamed girl with a fan as her weapon.

When Granny said 'expertise' I had not meant being Soul Reaper, but being a Geisha. I found out years later that in her previous life Granny Chie had been one of the early modern days Geishas in Japan, and she had been training me to be her Maiko, which was something that she had called me a few times. I thought it was just a cute pet name, but it meant so much more. I was her apprentice.

After the performance, I had been rewarded with long lessons on various instruments which were again something I kept on with for a long time to come as a hobby that I was truly passionate about. Not so much the dancing, even though it had truly helped me and I did carry the techniques over into my fighting style in the future.

I could see what Granny had meant by the two arts being similar. Whenever I turned with my arm extended I imagined spinning with a sword. When I crouched low, I was ducking from an attack. When I glided forward I was moving in for an attack and as I listened to the lyrics I closed my eyes and imagined myself in not a brightly colored Kimono, but long black robes that looked like they had been woven from the darkness itself. No longer holding not a fan, but my very own Zanpakuto.


	15. Many Moons Ago

Chapter 15 - Many moons ago

The day after my performance Yuu was in an incredibly good mood and decided to take me into town and treat me to cake from the bakery. Even with my many refusals, she insisted and soon found out why.

Once we had chosen our cakes we took a stroll around the town enjoying the sunshine and suddenly Yuu walked ahead and turned to look at me with a glint in her eye.

"Yuu, if you're gonna tell me how amazing the dance was you can stop; I've heard it enough now," I said with an uninterested yawn trying to sidestep her.

"It's not that, well, it is but-" she sighed. "I know you're not going to like me saying this but... I think you should try to contact Hatsuka again- don't give me that look!"

I understood now. She had bought me a cake in an attempt to literally butter me up and put me in a good mood. Food bribes usually worked but not this time.

"Please just try... I think that after learning all of this new stuff you have gotten over all of your impatience- Kimi! That's what the problem was, no, please listen to me!" She said as I tried to interrupt angrily. "You aren't as hasty as you were, your timings in the dance were perfect so I think your timings in a sword practice would be better now, I think that... You would give him a run for his money and it serves him right!" She rushed the last few words as if it pained her to say them and the quicker she got them off her chest the better. She liked Hatsu a lot and never usually had a bad word to say about him.

I scowled. "You don't mean that. You're just telling me what you think I want to hear. You just want him back and you know that he won't if we don't get along." I said bluntly.

"No! I do mean it! You've improved so much in such a short stretch of time. You trained with him for longer and didn't achieve as much... But..."

"Doesn't that say a lot? You have seen that he sucks as a teacher, you've seen how mad he makes me and still want him to come back? If you miss him so much just tell him, don't use me to get to him!"

Yuu looked hurt and I felt a pang of guilt.

"I would tell him but I'm afraid he would say no... And even if he did say yes, I wouldn't want there to be so much tension between you two... I don't want to have to choose between the two of you... I want both of you... He really is nice if you get to know him Kimi."

"Funny, I knew him for a fair few months and only saw his nice side when I first met him, and even that wasn't particularly friendly."

"You're so freakin stubborn! Get over it already! Just get over what happened and move on, it's in the past!" She shouted causing a few passers-by to jump and stare in alarm. Now I was surprised enough to back away. Yuu rarely shouted even when she was angry so she must have been dying to get this off her chest for ages.

I hesitated and sighed. "Fine. But you're going to contact him for me and I'm not apologizing. I'm not even going to say hello. I'll just fight him to settle the score and get it over with."

She sighed. "That's better than nothing. Thank you." And we continued walking in silence. Then I decided to voice something that I had been wondering for a while now.

"Yuu? I've been thinking a lot since Hatsuka left and I have always wondered... If he isn't a Soul Reaper how does he know so much about them?"

Yuu pondered the question for a moment then took my hand and pulled me away. "Come with me. What? We have no plans so let's go"

And a few minutes later we arrived in the small abandoned clearing next to the river that was home to the dilapidated old tree house, the place where Yuu and I had once eaten sweets together.

"Why are we here?"

"This is where we first met- Hatsu and me, I mean. It just seems like the right place to explain things" we sat down on the carved tree stumps.

"We met when we were very young, I don't know, when we were about ten or something, literally ten years old in Soul Society years. He was a bit of a loner back then. He didn't have any friends, not that he really acted like he wanted any. A few people tried to approach him, but he would just run away" Yuu seemed to enter a dreamy state while telling her story like she was watching the scene play around her like old times.

* -flashback- *

It was a blazingly hot summers day, not that it was ever otherwise during Harumachi's summer time. Most people had given up working on the market stalls due to the intense heat, but the heat wasn't enough to stop the youngest children from playing in and around the village.

Yuu, being the village leader's daughter, was automatically looked to as a leader by the other children and took it in her stride. They would often march around the town pretending to be a group of something; Soldiers, pirates, dragons, explorers; But Yuu would always be given the highest position.

She was no taller than three foot and wearing the same sort of yukata she wore today but in kids version, with her sleek black hair a lot longer and tied into a high ponytail, much like Kimi's but less messy.

Most of the children were younger and smaller than her, so she was expected to keep them safe as well as amused. This whole pretending to be a pirate leader that she was doing at the moment was a good way to get the very small children to follow and behave.

Today they marched out of the village and along the riverside looking for a place to dock their imaginary pirate ship, this is how she explained the idea of building a tree house to the children. She even had an eye patch and wooden play sword to play the part convincingly.

As they marched, chanting songs and making as much noise as possible Yuu was looking for a good place for them to play in the water.

They stumbled upon a spot next to a shallow part of the river where there were fewer trees. She grinned. This was perfect. It had plenty of space and was fairly sheltered but it didn't block out the sun completely.

She spotted something on the other side of the river and saw a small boy around the same age as her sitting on a tree stump, skimming rocks across the water in the shade. Judging by his expression he had heard them coming and wasn't too happy about it, but at the same time, he looked fed up and miserable sitting there all alone.

"Halt, me hearties!" She called, raising a hand in the air and jumping to a halt. There was a small pile up behind her as first kids weren't quick enough to stop. "Me thinks this is a perfect place for our ship! Now, we need to build it! Get to work you, scurvy dogs! It's not gonna build itself!"

The other kids cheered and ran off towards the trees to pick up sticks and twigs. Yuu laughed at their enthusiasm but she would ask the adults to help them build a real tree house here later on.

The boy was still staring at her from the opposite bank with something that looked like envy. She sat down, slipped her shoes off and kicked her feet around in the cool water without speak to him.

Instead of speaking to her or moving away he completely ignored her as though she wasn't there.

"Hey, why don't you come and play with us?" She asked kindly. He still ignored her.

"It looks lonely over there, it's a lot more fun over here-" but she froze as he glared at her. His eyes like sharp amber daggers. "...Or not." She muttered.

She got up and played with the other kids for a while, noticing more and more how miserable the boy looked watching them. She got the impressions that he wanted to join them but didn't know how to and didn't want to accept her offer, so she tried again.

"You sure you don't want to come over here with us, you are always welcom-"

"NO! Leave me alone!" He shouted, startling some birds out of the trees. In anger he threw a rock he was holding down the river with such force that it skimmed across the shimmering surface for a few meters before disappearing.

Most of the other kids had seen, having turned to look what was going on when he shouted. Their mouths were open wide in awe. "How did he do that? Did you see that? Did you see what he just did?" One little boy asked him, friends, excitedly.

But young Hatsuka turned away to pick his bag up off the floor beside the tree. Before he could leave Yuu jumped into the shallow river and swam to his side.

"You're coming with me" she announced loudly, grabbing his wrist and dragged him off of dry land into the water fully clothed without giving him chance to argue.

"What are you doing!? Let go of me! Ugghh..." he whined as his clothes became drenched. Yuu didn't care. She always played in the river fully clothes and was used to it. When they reached the other bank Hatsuka looked like a soggy drowned rat, his fairly long auburn hair sticking to his face messily.

Yuu cleared her throat as the other kids continued to stare, smirks on their faces at Hatsuka's confused, distressed look. "Troops! I'd like you to welcome a new member to our crew! His name is-" then she realized she didn't know his name. She whispered in his ear "What is your name?"

"Ha-Hatsuka" he shivered, not being used to the breeze cooling his wet clothes.

"Hatsuka! Take care of him, okay?"

The children cheered and practically jumped on Hatsuka demanded him to show how to skim rocks.

"At first he was very nervous and jittery, he would never speak unless I brought him into the conversation like how I forced him to join us. If I didn't force him he would never participate, though I could tell he appreciated my help and counted on me. But eventually he got used to it and I didn't have to force him anymore. He started to make friends and became my best friend." Yuu said, smiling reminiscently and staring over at a spot underneath a tree opposite us.

"Hatsuka changed as he got older. He went from being shy and reserved to liking attention and wanting to be the best at everything. He was a bit of a show off at times, to be honest. Even I would get mad at him. But one day he found a pretty impressive reason to show off"

"What was that?" I asked.

"His uncle."

I raised an eyebrow.

"The person who really taught Hatsuka kendo was his uncle, who was a Soul Reaper-"

"He told me it was this father who taught him" I interrupted.

"I'll get to that in a minute, just let me tell my story!" She chuckled. "Anyway, his uncle was assigned to Harumachi, his hometown, which allowed him to come home regularly and see his family. So, you can imagine the reaction if the other kids when they found out someone so strong and cool was part of Hatsu's family. Hatsu practically had celebrity status because of it and a lot of the other kids expected him to become a Soul Reaper too. Hatsu admired his Uncle, but even more so when he was getting a lot of attention for it."

"That is pretty cool," I agreed. "Even I would be impressed"

"Exactly. Naturally, he didn't want to look weak next to his awesome uncle so he asked him to teach him to be a Soul Reaper. But Hatsuka didn't have any spirit energy. Being so young and naive he couldn't understand why this would stop him, so his uncle offered to teach him kendo instead, seeing as you don't need spirit energy to use a bamboo sword, and he was naturally really good at it. He didn't need to live in his uncle's shadow with the reflected glory anymore, he had his own talent" Yuu said proudly.

I had a feeling that Yuu had given Hatsuka a lot of encouragement at the time, the same as she had done for me.

"Hatsu's uncle taught him everything he knows about kendo and Soul Reapers today. But one day he made his uncle really mad. Even though he had explained that Hatsu could never be a Soul Reaper he was too naive to understand why spiritual pressure was so important... so... he ignored what his uncle told him and went ahead to the Soul Reaper academy entrance exams- this is only what I've been told from rumours because Hatsu always refuses to talk about it." she clarified quickly. My eyes were in shock. I couldn't imagine the Hatsu I knew doing such a thing. "He shouted to spectators and judges about how his uncle was the best Soul Reaper in the world and he wanted to be just like him. He failed he exam and made a fool of himself, embarrassing his uncle and causing him a lot of grief within the Seireitei"

Yuu seemed to be getting a bit upset. "Hatsu and his uncle argued when they next met and Hatsu said some really horrible things that he didn't mean out of anger. He was so mad that he stormed off in a rage and his uncle left without saying goodbye. A few days later... He died"

My heart plummeted. "No way..."

Yuu nodded, agreeing with my shock.

"But what happened to his uncle?"

"Some people say he killed himself, some say he died while on duty. His family knew but Hatsu never wanted to speak about it... He was never the same again. He went back to being shy, quiet and reserved. He stopped practicing kendo for a long time and never spoke about his uncle, Soul Reapers or anything of the sort again."

"But that's unfair to his uncle's memory!" I protested.

"I know, but I think Hatsu was too ashamed of himself and doesn't want to remember his uncle in such a bad light. It was painful for him. After it happened his family moved up into the mountains, partly because they wanted to expand their business, but partly because of how miserable Hatsu was. People were making fun of him for what happened and adding to his grief. So they decided to give him a fresh start.

Hatsuka was my last friend, the last one to leave the village or grow up and move on. It was my first time in at least eighty years seeing him when he came home with you. I had no idea if he still lived in the mountains or was even still alive..."

I had been staring unblinkingly at the floor through this. Now I understood why Hatsu was the way he was. He was taking on the role of his uncle when he mentored me. I was able to become a Soul Reaper unlike him so he was pushing me hard to achieve the goal that he would never be able to reach.

I had done to him exactly what he had done to his uncle. Got into a rage and said horrible things before storming off, and the more I thought about it the more I knew how guilty I would feel if something happened to Hatsuka without having the chance to apologize to him.

"I get it now." I still in my thoughts, staring at the water. "Go and contact Hatsu, tell him to come whenever he is available. I'll be ready for him."

Yuu nodded and rushed off to send the mail. I dropped my gaze from the spot on the opposite bank, imagining the lonely little auburn haired boy huddled there while other kids played opposite him, feeling the hatred and jealousy as though they were my own emotions. Like they were something I had once experiences too, perhaps in my past life.

I stood up too, breathing deeply and knowing that Hatsu would not leave it until another day. I made my way back to the manor, mentally preparing myself.

Yuu arrived back later that afternoon with the news that Hatsuka would be there the next morning which surprised me. Whenever they had sent a message for him to meet up he had been there in a heartbeat, perhaps something came up.

So I spent that night trying to clear my mind and calm my nerves, getting a few last minute tactics and reading in before the morning. I felt as though everything I had learned would fall apart the second I saw him and he would laugh at me for still being useless.

But by the next morning, my confidence had blossomed. The moment I pulled on my Hakama for the first time In weeks I felt the difference compared to those horrible restricting Kimono's I had gotten used to moving around in and my pumps felt like I was walking on clouds compared to the thick block shaped sandals. These clothes were designed for flexibility and combat. I did a few flash bursts just to test and my heart soared with excitement. I was definitely quicker on my feet than before.

Soon, Yuu came to knock on my door as Hatsu arrived. My stomach lurched but I ignored it and followed her to the front courtyard.

"Welcome Hatsuka, it's good to see you again" Yuu smiled. I didn't even look him in the eye, just stared at my nails as if looking for dirt. I was waiting for some jab and was determined to just prove him wrong and be done with it. I was not going to retaliate to his words.

"Thank you Lady Yuuga, good to see you are well."

"Very well thank you. I'm looking forward to this, my sister has improved a lot since your last meeting" I picked up on the pride in her voice and thought that maybe she was trying to worry Hatsu. I smirked.

"She has, has she? I'll be the judge of that. Here-" and to my surprise, he unsheathed my once broken black sword from his back and throw it to me. I hadn't noticed until now but he had been carrying two swords. I looked down at it and see that the crack was still there. I felt a pang of guilt, more for abandoning the sword than for being mean to Hatsu. I had become quite attached to it.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

"Let's do this," I said simply.

I stood ready. Rather than standing heavily with both hands gripped tightly on my sword, I took a sideways stance with only one hand gripping the sword, something else I had learned from dancing. He raised his eyebrows at this and gave a cocky smirk.

 ** _Smirk all you like. I'll wipe it off your face anyway_** , I thought savagely.

I stared him down making sure to put all my hateful words into ice cold glare, not daring it to break eye contact with him. I was going to allow him to make the first move. And soon enough he did. He darted forward, but strangely he seemed slower than before, or had my senses truely sharpened?

I assumed this was because of my training with the rapidly flying angry logs. Compared to them he was walking at me, not running.

I leaned out of his way as he swung down on my left side, the side that wasn't holding the sword, and then twirled lightly to block his next incoming hit from behind.

He made a few more slashes at me then hurried back to distance himself. He stared me down looking slightly annoyed that I had managed to avoid all of his hits without even bringing my second hand to the sword.

I stood still, watching for his next move as he planned it. He ran forwards again but I flash stepped aside and landed a blow on his left arm.

He grunted in pain and made to swipe at me but I flash stepped again to his right, and again to his left. I did this a few more times and he was clearly becoming frustrated at my sheer speed and not being able to keep up. It was making him impatient and causing him to make mistakes. He was making hurried attempts to hit when and leaving himself wide open.

I knew he wouldn't be able to catch me now, no matter how hard he tried, so I had an idea.

I stood still and relaxed my grip on my sword slightly to give him the impression that I had become complacent. I lowered the sword and smiled at him in a way that plainly, sarcastically asked: "Can't keep up?"

His face visible showed his annoyance, turning a reddish hue with rage and he charged at me without thinking. As the sword reached within millimeters of my face I saw a smile of certain victory on his face. Then I flash stepped.

This time I did not appear next to him and it seemed that he had planned ahead for her to do so to catch her out. When I didnt appear he whirled around looking for me frantically. I appeared in the air meters above and behind him and with a yell of laughter, half fuelled by adrenaline I slashed down on his right shoulder. Petty of me I know. But I wanted him to feel how I did that day.

He hit the floor clutching the pain before he even knew what had happened. It was all too fast for him. I landed softly on my tip toes behind him and watched him while he sat gripping the pain.

This time Yuu didn't come running to us as she did before. She sat firmly on her spot on top of the wall smiling at me warmly.

"How does it feel to be beaten at your own game?" I asked bluntly.

Hatsuka made a Tsk sound that was partly a laugh. He stood up to face me, grinning.

He avoided my question. "When did you learn the style of a Water Dancers?"

I blinked but realized what he meant after remembering Granny's words, Fluid as water.

"Let's say I picked up a few tricks since we last met."

"I can see that. You have improved a lot I'll give you that. You even picked up my point about exploiting weaknesses. It felt like trying to catch water with my bare hands. As soon as you think you've got it, it slips away."

I didn't even smile. I just nodded and turned away. This was good to hear, reassuring to know that I was doing it right. "Then my training paid off after all. Thank you for bringing back my sword. If that is all you may leave." I was surprised by the amount of authority in my own voice as if the two of them had switched places upon his defeat. I still remembered what Yuu had told me about his past, but I couldn't bring myself to apologize to him.

"Look, Kimiko. I owe you an apology" I froze and turned to look over my shoulder at him. He stayed in a kneeling bowed position. "You have proved that you were right about me being too pushy and honestly I didn't believe that you would get anywhere without me... but you proved me wrong. You've come far in these few weeks and I apologize for being so harsh to you. You defeated me fair and square"

I looked over at Yuu who looked as surprised as I felt. I nodded encouragingly "Thank you, Hatsuka. I'm... I'm also sorry for saying all those things back then. I didn't mean them; I was just angry" I had hesitated. I did mean them because use he annoyed me so badly, and I still believed that I had no cause to apologize because he deserved it... But it was more important to keep the peace.

He straightened up and smiled. "I know that feeling," and he held out his hand. I stared at it for a moment, understand his words. He knew the feeling because he had been in a similar situation. Hoping that he had seen the error of his ways, I accepted his hand shake.

Yuu came flying at us from the top of the wall and jumped on us both, pulling us closer to her. I saw a startled blush appear on Hatsu's cheeks as he was pulled into her chest.

"Don't you two ever do that again! It was horrible having to be in the middle of that! You both need to lighten up and stop being so serious!" We both smiled.

"I'm sorry," Hatsu said, hesitantly bringing his arm up to rest on her shoulder

"Me too, it won't happen again" I agreed and returned my sister's hug tightly.


	16. One Last Wish

Chapter 15 - A Final Wish

 _ **The pendulum tick's forwards forty-six years into the future when a new chapter in Kimiko's life is opened.**_

Forty-six years had passed since my fight with Hatsu, though it didn't feel like it at all. Soul Society years were fleeting compared to years in the world of the living, scarily so.

I had gotten so used to this life I lived in the Rukon with my mother, father, grandmother, sister and best friend. I no longer thought of them as an adoptive family even though I still had no clue about my past life, and that's just how I liked it. I was afraid that if my memories did come back to me, this perfect life I had built might fall apart around me.

After everything I had been through I had partly given up on my dream to the extent of my daily training with Hatsu turning into a subconscious habit and sport. In the first few years, I had always asked If they thought I was ready to move up in the world and their answer was always no. At first that frustrated me, but eventually, I stopped asking and just got on with my life, quietly accepting that Harumachi was where I belonged.

Hatsu had finally become less distanced and a little less formal, though he still called me Kimiko and I still called him by the shortened version of his family name because I still didn't know his first name. Even so, we became close enough to be mistaken for brother and sister by people who didn't know us, especially with the stupid little fights we always got into. Though with Yuu around telling us to "Fight and makeup already" they never lasted long.

His relationship with Yuu, on the other hand, was totally different. They had become more and more like a couple as the years went by, though they would never admit to such a thing; but either way, I felt that they both suited each other well and would be more than happy to officially have Hatsu as part of the family.

When together the three of us were inseparable best friends. Hatsuka had even convinced Yuu to take part in our training from time to time with the argument that this would be good self-defense for her. But with Yuu being the beautiful, well mannered, civilized, young lady of the manor, she felt that it was not her place to take part in such rough activities and would much rather leave play fighting to me, her polar opposite who didn't care about getting a bit messy or hurt.

At some point over these years, Hatsuka felt ready to fly the nest and decided to leave his parents' home in the Bamboo Forest of the northern mountains and get a place of his own just outside of town so he was closer to Yuu and I and no longer had to travel so far every day.

Yuu was thrilled by this and spent a lot of time alone with him to 'make up for all the time they had lost'. She swore that there was nothing going on between them, but I didn't buy it and couldn't understand why they were bothering to hide it from me.

One day in at the beginning of December Hatsu had sent mail to me, telling me to meet him and Yuu in the town early the next morning because he had 'something to announce'.

My mind went into overdrive when reading this and all sorts of thing went through my head. Were they getting married? Was Yuu pregnant? Were they moving out together? I was in half a mind to ask Mother and Father if they knew anything but perhaps that wouldn't be wise in case it was supposed to be secret.

I left that morning wearing my usual long and baggy winter jumper, tights and snow boots and met them in the town square where the two were already waiting. I was eager to find out what was going on I skipped the greetings.

"Why did you call me here? What's going on?"

"Hi to you too, Sis," Yuu said snootily. I waved a hand to acknowledge her, wrapped up in her hundreds of layers of white sweaters so she looked like the abominable snow woman, and turned my attention back to Hatsu.

"Well, Yuu and I have been talking and we've decided..." I saw a smile creep on Yuu's face as though she was waiting to see my reaction. The suspense was killing me.

"Decided what!? Spit it out already!"

"That you are ready to move on." He finished.

"Huh? What? Me? Move on?" I asked bewildered. That was not what I was expecting, and then something clicked. "...You can't mean..."

He nodded and Yuu's grin became wider. He fished into his coat pocket and pulled out a very formal looking white flier. I stared at the headline.

"The Shino-o Academy is recruiting the next generation of young Soul Reapers" I read aloud with a slightly dazed voice. I looked up at Hatsu who was still smiling.

"Keep reading"

"Registration begins from 10th December to the 10th of January at district One, west Seireitei entrance. You will then be invited to take part in the entrance exam on the 10th of January at midday. You may register upon arrival for the exams if preferred." I stared at it, drinking it up and scanning the text several times to make it wasn't a mistake.

"I'm ready to join!? You really think so!?"

"You've been ready for ages but the truth is we didn't want you to leave us Kimi. We have had such fun together and it's painful to think that you'll be leaving us..." Yuu said with a dismal smile. "I've always been scared of losing you, you're my siste-"

I flung her arms around her and hugged her tight, not that she could feel her under all of the jumpers. "And do you really think I would abandon my family and friends? Do you think I wouldn't write to you or visit regularly? You idiot! Of course, I would!"

"That's what I said but she wouldn't hear it. It's time we let you go. We have no right to stop you from fulfilling your dreams" Hatsu said putting an arm around Yuu who looked close to tears.

I stared back down at the flier and visualized that gigantic white and gold building from so many years before. Finally... I'm finally going.

"We might as well go there on the day if the exam to save multiple trips. Registering at the last minute doesn't decrease our chances or anything"

"Wait, we? Our?" I asked in confusion.

"Well... I thought I would come with you... For support, you know." Hatsu smiled. Something in that smile told me he wasn't telling me everything. He gave me a look as if to say 'Not now.'

"And because you would probably get abducted by aliens on your way over there or something" Yuu added.

I rolled my eyes. "I know I'm clumsy but that's ridiculous"

We began walking.

"So, what does this entrance exam involve?"

"I'm not sure, it has changed since..." He paused to swerve his sentence. "Since my uncle took the exam. As far as I know, the last test is just a measurement of your spiritual pressure. I should imagine the other tests will be combat based but we can't know for sure"

"I should be safe then, right? I mean, I've practiced for years, I should be good enough by now surely?"

"You'll be fiiineee~ I'm certain you'll pass with flying colors" Yuu sang skipping forward as snowflakes began to fall.

"I hope so..."

"You don't need to hope, you got it in the bag, Sis! You know what would be a good idea? To spend your last Season Festival here together and pray for good luck!"

My heart sank. Not again, I thought. I hated that horrible feeling at the shrine. It didn't feel so oppressive these days but the weight in the air was still palpable. I always tried to get out of going to the four festivals we had to celebrate the change of seasons every year but most of the time Yuu dragged me there against my will thinking I was just being lazy.

Hatsu laughed "That sounds good. I'm sure the gods will stay on your side if you ask them nicely enough, not that you need it"

I wasn't getting out f this one so I resigned and nodded.

Winter these days tended to fall more in January and February. If snow fell in December it was seen as a forecast of a harsh winter, which it had done already. So plenty of people turned out at the seasons festival to pray for a good harvest, a calm winter, and survival of crops.

Yuu and I told our family about the decision and everyone, even Granny Chie, wholeheartedly supported me by coming to the festival for 'five times the praying power'.

Granny lent Yuu one of her many Kimono's. A soft rose pink and blue patterned Kimono with a purple belt. Her shoulder length black hair pinned up into an elegant knot like mothers.

I, on the other hand, decided to wear the Kimono that Yoshino had bought me for my first birthday. Still wrapped up in its box, I had never found a good enough occasion to wear such a splendid piece of fabric, and even though its colors didn't match the seasons now was the perfect time to wear it.

Over the years my had grown out long and it was now almost down to my belly button, still the same shade of void purple in the light and black in the shade. I decided to leave my hair down but the to pull back a few strands around my face behind my ears into a black clip and purple Murasaki crest clips I had gotten from them for my first birthday.

This year I had been too busy to take part in the preparations for the festival and felt slightly left out when walking down to the shrine lake with the family as darkness fell that afternoon. I never actually entered the lake area if I didn't have to, but I was always happy to help the villagers bring over supplies if they needed an extra set of hands, seeing as I could flash step between the town and the lake in half the time it took everyone else to walk there.

We descended the stone steps into the lake and saw all the paths lit up magically by decorative, colorful lanterns made by the children of the village the warm light shimmering around the lake.

This year the unbloomed cherry blossom trees had been decorated with little pink fairy lights to give the illusion of bloom flowers.

We made it to the bottom of the steps and I braced myself for the heavy energy to hit me as Yuu pulled me through under the bright red archway that marked the entrance.

The pressure wasn't as a strong as usual, it was even bearable. Maybe the gods were in a good mood by the celebrations.

I relaxed and joined Yuu and Hatsu at the closest festival stall.

Our main mission was to get to the shrine but this could very well be my last few months here so we made a slow progress around all of the stalls and enjoyed ourselves.

Yuu almost burst a lung from laughter when Hatsu got pulled into a wet sponge throwing game by the carpenter who knew him and his family well. He came out of it dripping its and shivering but he was given a cuddly pink elephant toy as a prize for good sportsmanship, which made it even more hilarious.

Yoshino treated us to noodles, fried chicken, and cotton candy, and Shin won me a huge white goldfish in a competition but had to fight off a mob of hungry looking stray cats from the village that he been lurking around the stall hopefully for a chance at free food, some of them I recognised from trying to smuggle them into the manor as secret pets over the years.

The real surprise came when granny wondered off onto the main stage where music was being performed by a band of local teenagers, she commandeered a couple of the instruments after their song ended. I had my back turned at the time, buying animal masks for the three of us, a bunny or Yuu, a fox for Hatsu and a cat for myself, and when I turned around granny was sitting in the stage above a cheering audience. If it was anyone else, they probably would have been thrown off the stage head first into the icy depths of the lake for interrupting the music.

"What is the-" but when she began to play the music I understood. She was playing the song that she had taught me to dance to all those years ago, Tsurugi Uta. Back then she had played it to me on an old vinyl player, but this time she was playing it personally on the Koto and looked completely immersed in the music. I knew It was her way of saying goodbye.

I felt a tear in my eye and turned away. Are they all trying to upset me? Are they trying to change my mind and make me stay? I wondered.

"Kimi where are you going? She not done yet" Yuu called jogging to catch up and pulling Hatsu along, making him almost drop his Takoyaki.

"I just needed to get out of there, too many people you know"

"But you're not claustrophobic..."

"Let's get to the shrine already, come on" and I ran ahead of them at speed knowing that they would have to catch up instead of asking me questions. We finally made it to the long red bridge that led over to the little-secluded shrine island. It was totally deserted, everyone else was still back enjoying the festivities.

"Well, we beat the crowds at least" Yuu panted as she caught up.

We crossed the bridge together. We all dropped a coin into the box, rang the bell to get the god's attention and clapped our hands together in prayer, taking a moment to make our wishes.

"I wish that the exams go well for my sister, please give her luck and strength."

"I hope that Kimiko becomes a successful and powerful Soul Reaper, but never forget where she came from."

"I have so much to wish for... I know it's selfish to make more than one but I wish that I can succeed in these exams. I've waited so long and trained so hard for this... But most of all I wish that my family stay safe while I'm gone. Please look after them for me."

A loud whistle and bang sounded above us as the fireworks display began over the center of the lake. We ran back to the bridge to look at the distorted shimmering reflections of the magical patterns and the moon on the still black water.

"So, what did you wish for?" Yuu asked.

I folded her arms and lay them on the bridge, resting my chin on them and staring out. "That would be telling, wouldn't it?"

We laughed, sat down and dangled our legs out of the gaps in the side of the bridge, watching and thinking without saying anything else until the display was over.


	17. Exams I

A/N: Let the main story begin!

Chapter 17 - Exam Day I

The day had finally arrived.

These years had zoomed by so quickly it was scary. It hardly felt like ten years had passed, let alone forty-six years. Back then I had fantasized about this day, but part of me never truly believed that it would ever happen.

But here I was, mentally preparing for the day that would decide on the rest of my life. I had given up on sleeping long ago and taken to staring up at my ceiling deep in thought until the first rays of sunlight crept over the rooftops and into my room.

I couldn't possibly lie there any longer in case my bundle of nerves caused me to combust. I figured I might as well get up and get ready. No doubt everyone would try and force me to eat, but I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it down with how nervous I was feeling.

Sure enough, when Yuu and Yoshino entered the dining room about an hour after me they looked surprised to see me sitting there fidgeting with a set of marbles someone had given me a few days ago.

They glanced at each other. Apparently, they could tell that I was nervous by how restless I was. They approached me with the cautious air of someone who was about to defuse a bomb.

"Kimi… Would you like some food? I could cook you something if you like" Yoshino asked, putting a hand on my shoulder to break my concentration from the set of colored glass orbs.

I shook my head. "Not hungry," I mumbled.

"You'll need your strength for the exams. You can't go running on empty…" Yuu tried to persuade me. My stomach lurched at the sound of the E word.

"I'm… I'm fine, thanks"

They both sighed but didn't push anymore.

I had nothing to do while waiting for Hatsu to arrive over the next couple of hours and become increasingly fidgety. Playing with anything I could get my hands on, pacing around the room, switching seats frequently, trying to find a reason to tidy up or saying I left something back in my room when really I was just looking for a reason to walk around.

Finally, the door knocked and Hatsu was there. I gave a sigh of relief and rushed to let him in. He was dressed in his favorite pale green and brown Hakama and frowned when he saw me wearing my usual, casual baggy colored jumper and shorts.

"You are going to the Soul Reaper academy dressed like that?"

"I… I didn't think of that…"

Hatsu closed his eyes heavily, probably willing himself not to openly despair. "Go change quickly, we'll be leaving soon."

"Right. Back in a minute" and I rushed away to my room, panicking of what else I could have missed even though I spent all night and morning going over everything in my head.

Finally, ten o'clock arrived along with our carriage to the first district. I was now wearing my favorite Indigo and lilac hakama with the family crest high on the back, though it was covered by my now belly button length ponytail.

Yoshino fussed over us as we got into the carriage, going over things and checking we hadn't forgotten anything, then Shin took her hand and pulled her back.

"Yoshi. Kimi is a big girl now, she'll be fine. I'm sure she'll make use proud" he said with a wink.

I suddenly felt my eyes well up with tears, which worsened when I saw my sister's face, rivers streaming down her cheeks.

I couldn't look at them anymore. If I did fail I really would be the biggest disappointment.

"Thank you. I'll try my best" I said looking away and smiled.

"Good luck! Look after her Hatsu!" Yuu called as we closed the carriage door and took off.

They say time flies when you're having fun. Unfortunately, the same goes for when you're dreading something.

I sat with Hatsu in complete silence, staring out of the window and watching the scenery in the valley below grow smaller as we left the mountain pass up onto a winding, open mountain road.

The journey was only forty minutes at max, but it only felt like ten.

Hatsu was sitting opposite me with his eyes closed and arms folded, his trusty sword leaning against the carriage wall beside him.

I could tell he wasn't sleeping but I felt as though I shouldn't disturb him. Nerves were getting the better of me and I wanted to do something to take my mind off things.

"Hatsu?" I asked quietly. If he really was asleep I wouldn't be loud enough to wake him up.

Grunt.

"Oh, so you are awake then?"

Another grunt. I raised an eyebrow.

"You're quieter than usual, what's up?"

"Saving my energy." He replied bluntly. Well, that was a conversation ender if ever I heard one.

"For what exactly?" I pressed on, wanting to distract myself for as long as possible.

"The exams, dumbass."

I glared at him. "Thanks, Asshole. I thought you were coming with me for support?"

"My Pleasure. I'm taking part too but I didn't want to tell anyone."

"Why not?"

"... I have my reasons."

I knew why of course but I wasn't supposed to know and didn't think that he would appreciate Yuu telling me something that was very private to him. The last thing I wanted was to get Yuu in trouble.

There were a few moments silence and I spoke again, taking great pride in the aggravated twitch in his eyebrow as I spoke. Bugging the hell out of Hatsu had long been one of my favorite pass times. When he was annoyed his formal way of speaking disappeared and his real personality shined through. "What are these exams anyway? The flier didn't really go into detail"

He was on the verge of saying something mean and snappy but changed his mind. After all, everyone did want me to succeed so it was best to give me as many heads up possible. "They test your knowledge, fighting talent and spiritual pressure. That's all I know. I'm sure I've already told you this once."

"If you have I forgot. I'm only human."

He gave a snort as if to question how human I was and we fell into silence again.

"Hatsu…."

"What?" he asked even more snappishly.

"What if I fail?" I asked my voice wavering.

He actually opened his eyes this time. "You won't fail," he said with certainty looking me right in the icy blues.

"We don't know that! We don't know exactly what these exams are! There will be so many people, and so many of those people will be better than me, and they only have limited places… If I don't get in-"

"For crying out loud have some confidence in yourself for once!" I jumped back in surprise at his forceful tone. He looked deadly serious and quite angry. "Your biggest problem is your confidence. You have never been one hundred percent confident in your own ability and you hold yourself back. You could have done this years ago but you convinced yourself you weren't ready instead of just trying. You have trained for far longer than you needed to, you know a lot about various Soul Reaper studies from reading books and your spiritual pressure is huge for your age considering how you're not officially trained, unnaturally so. The only thing that will allow you to fail is your confidence!"

I didn't know what to say. He was right of course and I had no argument. At the times I had felt down and said 'I can't do it' I would fail and say 'I told you so' but the times I had felt on top of the world and brimming with energy and confidence, I had excelled with flying colors.

I loved the winter, but strangely enough, the greyness of the skies reflected my mood, the same way the bright sunshine reflected my mood in the summer. We had just gone through a particularly miserable long winter so my mood wasn't the best. Season Sickness, Yuu sometimes called it.

"I… just don't wanna be a failure and disappoint my family and the village. They are all behind me and counting on me… Imagine their reactions if I failed…"

"Who gives a crap what they think? You should stop thinking of everyone else and put yourself first"

"but-"

"If they care about you enough they would just back you up even more and continue supporting you until you do finally succeed, not turn their backs on you and laugh."

"Hatsu…"

"You. Will. Be. Fine. Just go out there and put every last bit of strength and effort into it. There's nothing more you can do."

I smiled. "I really will try my best!" I looked back towards the window and wiped a stray tear out my eye. To my horror, the huge golden-roofed academy building was already looming into view. Last time I had seen it I had wanted nothing more than to run in and sign my name up. Now I wanted to run and hide.

"How are we here already…."

The place hadn't changed one bit after all this time, but instead of students donning swords, backpacks and white and blue or white and red uniforms milling around the front courtyard, there were many hundreds of people wearing normal Rukon clothing.

They were entering the main courtyard in droves and I had to hang on to Hatsu's arm as we left the carriage so not to be swept away by the crowds.

"Stay close" Hatsu called over the loud rumble of chatter. We entered with the crowd and joined the back of one of many long queues that led to a registration desk inside the main reception building up ahead.

The atmosphere was electric. Everyone seemed to be full of anticipation but the mood seemed to die down quickly. It felt like we were standing there with no progress for hours already and everyone around us become more fed up and restless by the minute.

To keep ourselves occupied we listened in on other people's conversations, not that we had much choice or could really ignore them.

Many people were discussing where they came from and what experience they had, others, apparently people who had been born inside the Seireitei to Soul Reaper families were complaining loudly about the procedure and making it quite clear that they thought they were better than everyone else.

Hatsu had to hold me back to stop me from jumping these rude people, though it was strangely entertaining when an argument or full-scale fight did break out.

Eventually, the queues thinned and we were almost at the front desks. Everyone who had already registered had been moved into another area of the complex for the next stage.

Only a few people were before Hatsu and I now. A young girl, shorter than me (which was saying something) with short black hair that flicked out at her shoulders was in a deeply heated discussion with a boy; Tall and slightly muscled with long watermelon red hair that was tied back into a ponytail that looked oddly like a pineapple.

"Did you hear that?" the girl asked sounding panicked "They want our family name!"

"What's your point?" the boy replied sounding bored.

"Earth to Renji," she said jumping up to knock on his forehead with her knuckles.

"Ouch-"

"We don't have a family name!"

"It doesn't matter; Do you really expect every single person here to have a family? Only the snobby rich kids from Soul Reaper families have a family name"

I felt my temper flare. "How dare he!" I said slightly too loudly. The guy glanced over his shoulder and shot me a filthy look. Evidently, he had heard my reaction.

Hatsu snorted in amusement. "Look at you. Can't keep you out of trouble for five minutes"

"Shut up" I pouted glaring at the pineapple-head's back. Hatsu and I weren't from rich Soul Reaper families but we had family names, and nor were we snobby!

"Look Rukia, if it bothers you that much just make something up"

"Like what?" the girl asked snappishly.

The boy stared around the area as if looking for inspiration. "Well, most people use their district as a name…"

"Rukia Inuzuri? Sounds kind of…" she trailed off.

"Kinda sucks, yeah. How about…. Abarai! I heard that name back home a few times. We could be brother and sister for real, they won't know the difference" he sounded quite pleased with the idea but Rukia just stared at him exasperated. Before she could agree or argue she was being ushered forward for her turn to register. She had not been expecting this and stuttered for a moment until spitting out:

"R-Rukia Abarai, District seventy-eight, Inuzuri!"

The robed Soul Reaper didn't take any notice of her stutter, just wrote her details in a large book and handed her a card with her name and number on. Rukia pinned it to her tatty, ragged violet Yukata and moved to the side to wait for Renji but was ushered away to another part of the building.

 _ **District seventy-eight**_ … I thought. I dreaded to think of the quality of life in a place like that, judging from the state of their clothes it was very poor. I suddenly felt a surge of admiration for my town and family. Maybe I was a snob after all. I smiled and stepped forward to give my details at the desk next to the redhead boy.

"Kimiko Murasaki, District Two, Harumachi," I said brightly just to rub it in his face. He looked at me like I was filth on his sandals and pushed past me. I smirked.

 ** _Asshole,_ **I thought contemptuously.

I was given a card and stepped aside for Hatsu to take his turn, then it dawned on me.

I didn't know Hatsu's first name.

After all these years together, not once had he told me his name, and I was sure of it because I would never forget something like that. He had always addressed me as Kimiko and later when he got to know me better he started abbreviating it to Kimi like everyone else, but I had known him only has Hatsuka, his family name.

I tried to trail back as for as long as possible to hear him give his details, but an academy student guide ushered me away as they had done to Rukia and Renji.

I cursed under my breath and stalked off towards the huge open double doors of the front entrance. I entered but waited in the shade, peering out so I would see when Hatsu was coming.

I glanced down at my card and read: Candidate 1894.

 _ **There are almost two thousand people?**_ I glanced over at the queues, Hatsu was strolling towards me. The people that were left queuing could easily make up the last hundred and six. My belly lurched, feeling that my chances of succeeding here had diminished considerably.

Hatsu walked into the entrance and I straightened my frown. I didn't want him to shout at me for thinking negatively again.

"Okay... so where do we go?"

I turned and looked around wooden paneled the entrance hall, between the huge staircases on either side and down corridors and until I spotted the white and blue uniform of a male student halfway down the corridor to our left.

We ran to him, showed him our cards and he directed us down more corridors and up flights stairs marked with more robed officials. The place was incredibly big and definitely easy to get lost in. Too bad that model I had been gifted years ago only showed the outside of the building. It wouldn't be much use here. I knew that if I did become a student here would miss a fair amount of classes due to getting lost.

We came to another set of open double doors and looked in. My eyes widened.

We were looking into a gigantic lecture theatre, so big that it had to be partly underground. Tiers upon tiers of long wooden bench tables ran from top to bottom with rows of stairs to the stage breaking each tier into three rows. The robed figures at the bottom near the podium looked like ants from up here, and even the white screen up on the front wall looked small from so far back.

I noticed, as Hatsu and I joined the nearest row to the back, that the person beside me was Renji Abarai, looking fed up, spinning his pencil between his fingers and staring down at the front without blinking. A booklet of papers lay on the desk unopened in front of him. Rukia Abarai sat on his other side looking around in awe.

"Hatsu!" I whispered loudly taking my seat. My belly lurched for the millionth time that day.

"Yeah this is the written exam," he said no more, just took his seat beside me.

I stared around the room. No one had begun the test yet and there was a small buzz of chatter, meaning that they were waiting to be told before beginning. I glanced down at the paper and read the titles and notes on the front:

Shin-o Academy Written exam.

In this exam, you will have to answer sixty questions within the one-hour time limit.

Exam Conditions: No talking. No eating or Drinking. You may raise your hand if you have a problem but you may not ask for help with the content of the exam.

Any candidates caught cheating, copying or speaking to another candidate during the exam period will be immediately disqualified.

Each question is worth minimum of one point but some questions are worth more.

Try to answer all questions. Your total points scored will be added to the other tasks in the overall exam after being marked.

I gulped. The seriousness gave me the impression that the exam would not be easy. I glanced at Hatsu who had also just finished reading but he didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

I wondered how many people in this room wouldn't bother reading the instruction and do something wrong.

They waited a little while longer for the last few people to enter.

Way down at the front an official in a white robe called for silence and announced the beginning of the test and the one hour time limit.

The room fell completely silent. I could have heard a pin drop from down at the front all the way back.

I turned to the first page.

 _Question One: Who is the founder of the Shin-o Academy?_

The was the small line with enough space to write a one or two-word answer and a number one in brackets beside it. Did that mean it was worth one point?

I answered: Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. I couldn't imagine anyone in this room not knowing that.

 _Question Two: For how many years do you study at the academy before being assigned to a squad?_

This one was multiple choice. I circled the number six and moved on again.

 _Question Three: All registered candidates must possess a Zanpakuto to be allowed into the academy, True or False?_

I stared at the question. I was hoping that the easier questions came first and got gradually more difficult if not this would be a complete pushover. I circled False, knowing that you get your Zanpakuto at some point during or after your studies. I smiled, suddenly glad that I had spent so much time in the town library researching.

I was right of course. The questions did get gradually more complicated and required longer answers for more points, but after forty-five minutes I was finally turning to the back page.

The final question was comprised of one small line of text, then a full page of guidelines to write on.

 _Question Sixty: If you were given the choice to join one of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, which would you choose?_

They obviously wanted a reason as to why I would pick a certain squad, so this is a chance to tell them my strengths.

I looked at the number in brackets in the margin, three. It was worth three points so I had to give an answer and two answers at a minimum.

I thought about it. This would be a good opportunity to impress the person marking my paper, to make myself stand out from the others.

I began writing the paragraph slowly and thoughtfully.

 _I only know the specialisms of a couple of the squads, but if I could choose I would pick one that plays to my own strengths and abilities because I would be more useful to them than any other squad. I am small, fast and agile._

I paused as the memory of the night that I escaped from the village came back to me and I smiled, remembering the feeling of out running and evading all of those Soul Reapers in the dead of night.

 _I am also fairly good with sword combat after spending years practicing kendo. I would pick Squad Two which requires officers with those traits._

I remembered reading one of my library books about the specialties of each squad, and the second squad sounded like me and everything I was good at. Though the idea of assassinations had put me off my breakfast.

 _If I couldn't join that squad I would join any other without complaints and still work hard to be of use to them._

I finished the paragraph and read it back to myself. I had stated that I was capable of thinking tactically, I named a squad, showed I knew something about the squads and would offer my services to that squad which is the type of dedication and loyalty that they would be looking for, I told them I could follow orders and told them a little about myself. That has got to be worth at least three points, though I probably could have worded it better. I had never really been good with words.

I put my pencil down, closed the booklet and leaned back in my seat with a deep sigh of relief, feeling fairly satisfied with the attempt. I didn't feel that I had done too badly, there were only a couple of questions that I struggled with or guessed at. Renji beside me glared at me like he thought I was rubbing in the fact that I had finished so quickly. That wasn't my intention at all but if he wanted to take it like that he could.

I glanced at Hatsu quickly and saw that he had just turned to the last page was about to begin writing.

A bell echoed through the gigantic hollow room to signify the end of the exams shortly after he closed his booklet. Almost immediately academy students were at the ends of the rows calling down for us to put our pencils down and hand our papers down the row.

We did so and the man at the end of our row instructed us to follow him.

Luckily being at the very back saved us from more insufferable waiting. My patience was already pushed from the registration queue so I was glad there was no more waiting… at least not yet.

We were led to a large, square wooden room that I immediately associated with Hatsu dojo back at his old home on the outskirts of the district. I had only visited it once or twice in the early years but still remembered it vividly. I immediately knew that this would be the fighting exam.

It turned out that the academy had split up the two thousand candidates into groups of twenty and taken them to different rooms throughout the academy, meaning that the place was even larger than I had first estimated. I then remembered the wooden model I had been given as a birthday gift years ago and scorned myself for forgetting such a unique gift.

Upon entering the room, we gave the student guides our number cards to go with the exam papers they were now probably going to mark.

"This part of the exam is split into two rounds" a young woman with shoulder-length brown hair that was tied into a pigtail on one side began from the open space in the center of the room once we had seated ourselves on the cushions against the walls.

"Two candidates will be picked to fight each other in sword combat. The match will not be assessed based on winner or loser, but on your speed, strength, footwork, technical ability and skill" I made a mental note of these things so I would remember to demonstrate them when my turn arrived.

"For the second part the same will happen again but in hand-to-hand combat, so chances are you will get a different opponent. That match will be accessed in the same way. We have only two rules: No real metal blades, only wooden swords, and no killing. We don't allow destructive behavior for students and we will not accept it from applicants. The match will be over when one applicant surrenders, is knocked unconscious or is brought to the ground on both knees. Have I made myself clear?" she stared around at all of us as if making sure we were all paying attention.

There was a quick murmuring of "Yes Ma'am".

"Good. Anyone caught breaking either of those rules will face consequences, besides being disqualified of course."

Another official came over with a glass jar that was filled with the cards we had handed over earlier. The woman dipped her hand in and rummaged around for a moment then withdrew two cards and the matches began.

Most of it was pretty boring. Either like watching young children play with stick swords or watching real rich snobs show off with stupid one handed tricks that usually got them disarmed.

I sat there next to Hatsu, who was watching most of the matches intently, boredly fidgeting with the strap on my shoes.

"Match Complete. Next up: 1894 Murasaki, Kimiko. Accompanied by 1893, Abarai, Renji." the woman called out suddenly.

My head shot up in surprise. I hadn't been expecting to be called any time soon. Hatsu shoved me in the arm assuming I was still daydreaming and I shoved him back indignantly as I grabbed my Onyx sword and pushed up to my feet. Over the other side of the room then, Redhead Renji was standing too and my brain clicked.

 _ **Oh great. I would get faced with the asshole** _I thought viciously.

He accepted a battered old academy issued bamboo sword from an official and walked to meet me at the center of the hall. We kept a couple of meters space between us as a starting position.

"Someone clearly doesn't know how to shuffle cards" I drawled boredly. Obviously, our cards must have been stuck together given that we entered next to each other.

"Suits me just fine. I get to flatten a snobby rich kid" he retorted with his lip curled into a disgusted sneer.

My temper flared and I couldn't help myself but and retaliated with harsh words. "I guess no one ever taught you not to judge a book by its cover," I shrugged, adopting my usual water dancer stance with an overly exaggerated flourish of my sword, making its perfectly polished black wood shine under the lights, which I knew would annoy him. "But then again, where you come from they probably don't have books let alone morals, so you wouldn't understand that concept."

Without warning, Renji charged forward like a raging bull. I had a moment to access the situation. He had not adopted a starting stance, he was holding the sword completely wrong with both hands in the wrong position, his posture was horrendous, he was very heavy footed and clumsy in his footwork and he had definitely not taken a moment to access me at all. If he did and had any knowledge of fighting styles whatsoever, he would have known to attack my right side, my open side. I always held my sword with my right hand and my left hand behind my back with my body turned for my back to be exposed. With one good burst of speed, anyone would be able to hit me at my vulnerable spot, though that was something I was prepared for. Hatsu had pointed him out to me many times, but seeing as he couldn't perform what I had been calling Flash Burst's, blindingly fast mini flash steps over short distances using bursts of energy at your feet, he had never been able to actually test out my weakness. If this Renji guy had any knowledge of flash steps or combat he would have seen the weakness and exploited it. Either he was clueless, or too enraged by my taunting to noticed.

I guessed probably both. He lacked thought and composure and that was something I could exploit.

I left it until he his sword was a foot away from my head in an overhead downwards swing to smoothly sidestep him in one gliding movement. I watched the force of his swing make him stumble forwards to the spot where I would have been standing and I stood by watching him making a slow, blundering recovery.

There was an appreciative smattering of applause and a couple of laughs from the crowd as they watched. I smiled over at Hatsu who was grinning. My smooth, flowing movements versus Renji's erratic, unbalanced, unpractised and uncalculated mindless swings were like seeing the sun and moon hovering side by side.

His every attempt to hit me missed and I could see him getting gradually more and more frustrated as I ducked, dodge and jumped out of his reach every time.

We were getting closer and closer to the back wall now, and I saw a grin spread across Renji's face as the people sitting against the wall he was backing me into scrambled for cover.

He really thought he had me. At the last moment when he took a second too long to raise his sword in another overhead arc, I blow a raspberry in his face, ducked down and used my petite size to slide between his legs and out the other side.

"Opsy! Missed me!" I sang playfully, as he fell forward face first into the wall like a baby cow that was still learning to walk. The room laughed as I dancing back into an upright position and waited for him to correct himself.

He recovered again but looked completely infuriated. He was red in the face and breathing heavily like he'd run a marathon.

"That all you got?" I taunted, flourishing my sword as I switched to a relaxed stance. I was yet to actually make an attack. I bet the judges were fed up with seeing my dodging skills by now.

"You're pretty good at running… huh?" he panted.

"Running? I think you mean jumping? Running actually requires a leg work out, which you have not given me." I snapped back. "I'm surprised the rest of the building has been evacuated in fear of someone being decapitated by those wild swings of yours."

More chuckles came from around the room. He finally took a moment to look me up and down. He took in the perfectly clean and comfortable looking Purple Hakama, the silky black ribbon I had tied my hair up with and the beautiful, well crafted and well cared for sword in my hand. All of those things gave him a legitimate reason to think I was a rich snob. But didn't know me as a person and had no right to judge me like that without so much as speaking to me first.

I glanced down at Onyx. "Like it, huh? Why doncha come test it out?"

His eyes narrowed and as expected he charged forward with his sword held aloft over his head once more. It was like that was the only move he knew.

I raised Onyx and held it steady in a horizontal position with one hand tight on the handle and one flat on the edge of the blade. The hit sent shockwaves through my bones. Admittedly he was big enough to land a heavy hit, regardless of how clumsy he was. I was suddenly thankful for Hatsu's family's exceptional craftsmanship, and for my Sister naming the sword Onyx after the hard black gemstone, a name that now had more meaning than just the color.

I allowed him to press down on me and used the momentum to force him backward. I whirled, gaining momentum of my own and landed a hit on his shoulder. I didn't make it too forceful, I only wanted to make his arm go numb and loosen his sword grip slightly.

I leaped backward on the tips of my toes a few times like a rock skimming across water. Hopefully, that was enough distance for my next trick. It was time to show everyone a full flash step.

The effect was immediate. The gasps and looks I got from disappearing and instantly reappearing on the opposite side of the room were enough to make me laugh out loud. Even the student guides and examination judges watching from the sidelines looked pleasantly surprised and began scribbling on their clipboards. It seemed no one had expected someone of my level to be able to perform an advanced technique like that.

 _ **Thank you Lieutenant Kaien**_ , I thought.

Renji looked totally bewildered, looking around for me and I called out: "Can't you keep up? Want me to slow down for you?"

Again he didn't answer, just came charging at me with a roar, swinging his sword from the left.

It was like watching things in slow motion. I watched the sword incoming and waited for the perfect moment, jumped with a tiny burst of energy and landed on the blade while it was still moving, jumped again landing in his shoulder with the lightness of a cat forcing his sword downwards which unbalanced him, kicked him in the back roughly with a small blast of power to launch me into the air and sending him sprawling forward onto his face for a second time.

The room howled with laughter. I glanced at Hatsu and he was literally keeled over clutching his side. He managed to look up and give me a thumbs up while wiping his eye. I had never seen him laugh so hard in my life. The effect must have been different when you're watching the technique be used on someone besides you for a chance, seeing as Hatsu had found the move just as annoying until now. I'd have to remind myself to thank him for letting me kick him around so many times. It was worth it just to pull it off correctly here against someone who really deserved the humiliating.

Renji had pushed himself off the floor but was really panting now, looking tired and quite desperate.

I lifted my sword and rested it on my shoulders, leaning on it impatiently. "Shall we just end this? It's taking too long now" I asked but then one of his knees dropped to the floor like he was losing strength. I looked down at him, puzzled. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I didn't mean to use that much force..."

I walked forward holding out a hand to help him up when out of nowhere launched to his feet and his sword collided with my ribs full force and full power.

It felt like time had frozen as the impact ran through my body like an electric current, I stared down at him in horror. I couldn't believe that he was actually smiling triumphantly.

It was like someone had hit the play button again as I spit all the air out of my lungs.

There was a cry from the onlookers and Hatsu stood up looking furious and I dropped to the floor on both knees clutching the pounding pain in my right side, unable to speak.

Fast footsteps appeared next to me and I heard Hatsu, saying something loudly but couldn't make out what it was, then an official sounding voice saying "Break it up and get back to your seats!"

There was silence and two sets of footsteps went opposite ways. I looked up and saw little Rukia practically dragging Renji back to his seat.

"Murasaki? Do you need medical attention?" I heard vaguely off to my side as Hatsu helped me to my feet.

The air was still knocked out of me so I just shook my head and waved a hand in an indication that I would be okay. The hit had come incredibly sharp, definitely sharper than Hatsu had ever landed on me, but I willed myself not to cry in front of all of these people. I had shown them how physically strong I was, now I needed to prove I wasn't mentally weak.

I slowly took my seat next to Hatsu wincing with every tiny movement. I would love nothing more than to just curl up into a ball and cry into his shoulder but I couldn't.

It wasn't only the pain that upset me. I had been doing so well, and my own kindness backfired on me. I shouldn't have been stupid enough to let my guard completely down like that.

"That cowardly piece of trash, taking your generosity for granted like that, you wait till we get out of here-" but I put a hand on his shaking wrist and shook my head.

"He's not worth it. And besides I let my guard down, it's my own fault" I said, but there was no reasoning with Hatsu. It was rare for him to get mad, but people who betrayed trust performed cowardly acts were lower than scum to him. He was all about honor.

"You aren't a bad person for being concerned and wanting to help, you are naturally kind"

I shrugged. This was true but just reinforced the fact that I should get tougher and less caring in future and start treating mock fights as real ones like everyone else did.

For the rest of the first part, Hatsu sat glaring at Renji who seemed to have had an angry talking to by Rukia. He had turned away from her looked sulky.

Had Rukia been on my side in that fight? Was Rukia able to see past her friendship with Renji and see the horrible thing he had just done? And how would this affect my results? After all, he didn't defeat me by skill, more like cheating really.

I must be clear to everyone that he was so bad that he had resorted to cowardly, desperate measures to secure a win.

Not too long after came Hatsu's turn where he thought with another boy that seemed fairly well trained himself. He gave Hatsu a good run for his money but was eventually brought to his knees. He shook hands with the boy and thanked him for a fun match.

I got the distinct impression he was trying to show Renji how it was done judging by the glare he shot him at the beginning of his fight and the smug smirk at the end, and I couldn't help but smile. That was Hatsu's own little way of supporting me.

An hour or so later after I'd had plenty of time to rest and had been given a back of ice to put on the wound by a help student guide, my turn for the Hand-to-Hand combat round arrived.

This time I took on another girl, older and taller than me but slim through what I assumed was hunger, judging by the ragged torn clothing she was wearing.

Her punches were feeble, no real power in them but even so, I made sure to demonstrate my use of spirit energy as a shock absorber for the impact.

It shot through my mind as I wrapped my leg around the girl's and tripped her to the floor as lightly as I could, that if I have had warning of Renji's sneak attack I could have used the same technique to cushion the blow and could have recovered from it, not fallen in pain. But I just hadn't been fast enough to react. I wouldn't let the same mistake happen ever again.


	18. Exams II - The Final Test

Chapter 18 - The Final Test

Once those remaining matches were finished the group was escorted to the cafeteria for an hour of lunch. I took most this time to go and get my bruised ribs seen to by the medical team privately. Thankful it was only some bruising, nothing that wouldn't completely heal in a couple of weeks, but they did give me some pain relief just to get me by.

I found Hatsu and managed to eat half a chicken sandwiches (against my will, of course. I was still too nervous to eat anything substantial) before we were gathered back into our group by the young woman who had instructed us in the last exam.

We were escorted into another hall, though this one was small with a tatami floor and pillows set in rows for us to sit on in front of a panel of judges.

My belly flipped as I laid eyes on the ancient looking man in the middle. He had a bald, scarred head, ridiculously long eyebrows and equally long mustache and beard that was tied in purple ribbon, trailing onto the floor in front of him.

Beside him on his right was another familiar face. A kind looking woman with black hair tied in braids under her chin sitting gracefully on her knees with a cup of tea on the low table in front of her.

I smiled at the sight of Captain Unohana's welcoming gesture though I didn't expect her to remember me after such a long time.

Then I laid eyes on the man on the Head Captain's left and felt an entirely different feeling... pure dread. Shivers ran up my spine involuntarily at the sight of him.

He was tall and handsome, with curly brown locks and glasses perched high on his nose. I could have sworn that his lips broke into a thin smile at the sight of me, but I must have been imagining it. Why would a Captain I didn't know be smiling at me and me only?

Something about that man brought me such intense anxiety... No, not anxiety... fear? What was this feeling? I didn't want to be near him, I wanted to run and get as far away from him as possible.

Suddenly a brief but blinding pain shot through my head like lightning and at the same time, I caught the flash of an image of the same man looking down at her surrounded by darkness with that same malicious, knowing smile.

I gasped loudly and brought my hand up to my head. Next thing I knew Hatsu was holding me up by a tight grip on my upper arm.

"Kimi?"

I realized that I was still standing staring while everyone trying to get past me. Renji Abarai barged past with a heavy shoulder and I nearly screamed abuse at him but I managed to contain myself as Rukia hurried past with an apologetic grimace.

"Everything okay? You're sweating. You're not coming down with something are you?" he checked steering me over to two free pillows at the back.

"Someone turned the lights off again, but I'm fine," I said rubbing my temples. This was my little code explanation for a blackout that we had been using for years now. He gave an "Uh-oh" of understanding and helped me down to the floor, taking Onyx and placing it beside his sword.

"Now is not the time or place for your brain to have a tantrum," he said making me smile.

The last thing I wanted was to worry him so I didn't elaborate on the vision or volume of the pain like I would usually. The headaches and blackouts had become less frequent over time but we tried to ignore them when they did happen unless they were strong enough to make me physically sick as they had done in the past.

I avoided the brown-haired Captain's gaze entirely, wondering what that image I saw could have meant.

"Why are the Captains here? Surely they're too busy to watch us?"

"Who knows? If they want us to know they will tell us, just don't anger them, make sure to be respectful" Hatsu muttered as our instructor from the previous test walked in and shut the door behind us and we fell silent.

"All right everyone. This is the last hurdle." She announced walking to the front of the room and standing beside the Captain's desk. "You may have noticed that you are being judged by three new people. Let me introduce the Head Captain Commander of the Seireitei and Thirteen Court Guard Squad, Yamamoto Genryusai-" her speech was broken by muttering from the few of the group who hadn't yet recognized him. "Captain Unohana of Squad Four and Captain Aizen of Squad Five."

Each of them nodded as they were introduced and the woman continued.

"For the final part, you will be tested in the presence of the Captains, who will determine if you have enough spiritual energy to qualify for a place in this prestigious school."

"Thank you, Miss Kanisawa," Yamamoto said as she stepped to the side of their table.

"It's quite simple. One by one and you will show us your spiritual pressure. As you know you cannot be a Soul Reaper without it, but it is an indicator to us of your potential. The stronger the pressure the more potential you have, in theory. This will allow us to separate the successful candidates into groups based on your overall scores later on"

"No pressure" Captain Aizen chuckled from beside him.

I was the only person who didn't laugh at him. The charm he oozed seemed so forced and fake to me.

I shot a look at Hatsu and elbowed him in the side. Now was not the time for me to pretend I didn't know his secret. I knew full well he had no spiritual energy but from never hearing him complain about being hungry. "Dude, you have to drop out-" I hissed.

He didn't question me, just shook his head. "No, I have to do this."

"Do what? Make a fool out of yourself in front of the Captains and all of these people?" Though I regretting saying it so harshly afterward. He glared at me.

"No, I've already done that once before, I'm not about to do it again. I have a plan- Trust me I know what I'm doing" the sickly shade of green in his face told me otherwise but I didn't question him further as the exams were starting already.

Captain Unohana had now begun to speak over the group's excited whispering. "You will be judged on your control over your energy and its overall strength"

Hatsu and I had been the last in and last to our seats at the back row, and apparently, they were going along the rows rather than picking names or going by alphabetical order, so we would be last. I couldn't imagine how he was planning to hoodwink the Captains... There was no way to get around the fact that he did not have spiritual energy at all. Nothing, not a drop of it. So what could he possibly be planning?

I took to watching the others take their turns, more to weigh up the competition, see how strong the others were and to see what was expected of me.

They would simply stand in the center of the room before the Captains and force out their spirit energy. They often looked severely constipated while doing this, as though they were really struggling to force the energy out. But when the misty aura's leaked out of their bodies like rising steam they often had a presence that made the hairs on my arms and neck stand up, but the fascinating thing was the variety of forms the energy took.

I had only ever seen my own, which I now found was unique. Every person seemed to have a different energy. Some gave off warmth while some gave off a slight chill. Some gave me a tingly feeling on my skin, some made me short of breath. Some were relaxing while others were unnerving. They also had different colors. I knew that mine was a bright white, but others were white with a colored aura or just a solid color or solid white.

Renji Abarai's came out as a warm bright scarlet light with a pale pink glow at the center, while Rukia's was a cold white with blue around the edges, almost like lightning. Neither of them was particularly strong, but they weren't weak either. They definitely had enough to use it in combat and the only reason I could see that they hadn't in the previous test was that they didn't know how.

All the time that I sat watching as the other candidates took to the center of the room the captains sat jotting down notes on each person.

I was dreading it now. I thought that I had become quite good at controlling it over the years but now that I was here I had no idea if I was good or not... or even if my energy was strong. I had never shown it to another person or compared to somebody else's. the only time I saw it was when I used it to protect myself. When I tried to control it I was always in a meditative state on my own so I only had a vague idea of how mine looked.

Finally, the girl beside me had finished and was heading back to her seat, so I stood up and took to the middle of the room.

As the Captain's eyes fell upon me and my peers watched from behind, I felt the weight of expectation on my shoulders and the butterfly's trying to escape from my stomach. I closed my eyes, clasped my hands together tightly with a clap and locked my fingers together, then took a moment to enter my focused state. The one that allowed me to concentrate and block out the rest of the world, the one that I used to focus when I was angry or upset.

I felt the world slipping away as the darkness inside my mind grew in density. My muscles relaxed and I felt the peculiar sensation of spinning or falling.

Darkness surrounded me entirely now as if I had slipped into another world.

From the view of an outsider like Hatsu, it looked as though I was deep in prayer, not straining like the others.

It dawned on him that this was something he had never seen before. The only training we ever did was physical because he could not perform or fully understand spiritual matters. I had spoken about this type of training but never shown him.

Everyone watched, waiting for me to do something. No one else had done it this way. They had all instantly fired up as if flicking a switch. A few people raised eyebrows and glanced around in confusion as if asking what the hell I was doing.

I was now in the deepest of trances.

I had been to this place countless times before but could never remember it when I woke up. I was deep inside my own mind surrounded by sheer blackness, floating now as if in water, searching for something. For what I did not know. Well, I knew it by sight but I didn't understand it. All I knew was once I found the tiny crystal of white light that lived somewhere in this void or whatever this place was, I would be able to control the power inside of me.

The only problem was that every time I laid eyes on the crystal it either get further from me. The closer I got, exploded before I touched it or disappear completely, and so this whole thing was beginning to feel like a recurring nightmare, the feeling of frustratedly pursuing something that I wanted so desperately but could not reach.

There was a flash to my right, and there it was. Floating aimlessly in space, emitting a dull pulsing glow as if beckoning me. I floated over to it, circling it slowly, trying to work out what it was. So small it could rest in the palm of my hand. It gave off waves of energy colder than ice with every pulsating flash. Such a pretty little object. I reached out to touch it but before I could make contact it, once again, it erupted into a blinding white light.

At that moment on the outside, the same thing happened. One moment it seemed to the onlookers as if I was praying, the next a tight sphere of white energy was enveloping me, spinning like a hurricane. The whole room was caught in the rage of the freezing winds around me. It looked as though my energy had a mind of its own, like a huge, dense shield that was protecting its master and blocking anything from getting near me.

Everyone was being blown backward by the sheer force of the gale, clinging on to each other and the walls for stability, feeling sharp icy gusts against their skin like thousands of tiny blades.

The Captains, however, didn't seem too bothered by the winds. They simply sat back looking on with mild interest, but the light was bright that the other candidates couldn't look directly at me without squinting.

I began to levitate ever so slightly off the floor as the winds began to expand outwards, losing their spherical form around my body and becoming shapeless, filling the room. The black ribbon in my hair was ripped loose and began orbiting me, my hair flying like tendrils reaching for something to hold on to.

The light of my energy was getting brighter by the second and Hatsu had to cover his eyes. He wanted to look for the captains and see their reaction. None of the others had energy like this, nothing close. Was the energy out of control, or just stronger than everyone else?

As if it heard his thoughts the energy's frantic swirling ceased in the blink of an eye.

I felt my body becoming tired and let go of the energy.

The storm instantly calmed and the wind and light seemed to evaporate into thin air.

My feet landed back on the floor. My hair fell down to my back in a tangled mess. But the room was left in the grips of a mist so cold that everyone breath was visible in plumes.

Hatsu finally opened his eyes and saw me standing my hands still clasped.

He saw that the Head Captain was transfixed on me watching with interest, as were the others. The other kids around him look shocked and windswept. Captain Unohana was jotting notes and Captain Aizen simply smiling, looking pleased.

When I finally opened my eyes, there was a faint glow of white just fading out of sight back into my normal color. It was like I had broken out of a trance and was completely unaware of what just happened. I smiled nervously, gave the Captains a little bow and hurried back to my seat beside Hatsu, but my seat was no longer there. The pillows and my peers were all hugging the walls as if they had been picked up and thrown across the room. I looked at their expressions with confused and then to Hatsu questioningly.

"What the hell did you just do?" He asked, his mouth gaping open.

"What do you mean? I showed them my energy. You're doing a really good frog impression you know" she said nodding to his open mouth.

He stuttered and closed it. "You have no idea what just happened... do you?"

I raised an eyebrow. Had I made this mess? How?

"I think we may need to fix those pillows down before the next group, Head Captain" Aizen suggested, getting another laugh out of my peers but I didn't react.

I helped the other candidates gather up the pillows and put them back in the center of the room before sitting down.

"More importantly," I continued in a quiet whisper "What're you gonna to do? You're up next!" I asked sudden urgency in my voice as I glanced up the Captain's table. Aizen was scribbling on a clipboard while Unohana and Yamamoto attempted to rearrange the crooked tablecloth and scoop their broken water glasses up off the floor. I cringed. That wouldn't do me any favors.

"I hope you've thought this over..."

Yes. He had thought this over, for a very long time. He admitted it to me much later on. He had been planning this ever since he met me all those years ago. This had partly been a reason for deciding to teach me in the first place. The reason he had been so frustrated with my slow progress in the beginning, because he was relying on me to give him his opportunity and he was afraid I would lose interest and also partly the reason for going against my families selfish desire to keep me at cooped up like a trapped bird in the village forever and giving me that flier so that I could finally move on.

But he realized how selfish it was to thinking of himself before me. It was me that was had spent so many years of time and effort on, I was the one with such a huge dream that we had been striving to fulfill for so long, not him.

But the grief and guilt had been weighing on his shoulders for far too long now and it was long past the time to settle the score.

He stood up and took his position in the center of the room as the others had done. He took a deep breath, not looking into the eyes of the captains.

"Well?" the head captain asked impatiently when he didn't nothing after more than a few moments. He had a fleeting urge to run from the room but clenched his fist and rooted himself to the spot.

I watched on nervously wondering what on earth he had planned.

"I... am not here to show my spirit energy"

"Then why are you here? I am not fond of time wasters, if you do not have spirit energy you have wasted your time and ours-"

He cut across the captain- "Maybe this is a waste of your time, but not mine. I'm here to prove that people who don't have spiritual energy aren't the worthless scum that you Soul Reapers seem to think we are"

I gave a little gasp. He couldn't speak to the head captain like that! Was he insane!?

The Captains exchanged looks. Captain Aizen had opened his mouth, most likely to protest, but the Head Captain had held up a hand to stop him.

This surprised Hatsu and he plundered on into an unplanned explanation before any of them could change their minds.

"Many years ago when I was just a naive child, I came to the academy and took part in the exams because I had a childish dream. I wanted to be as strong as my uncle, Ashido Kano"

The captains glanced at each other at the sound of the name but said nothing.

"I was too young to understand why spiritual energy was so important to a Soul Reaper, but even though my uncle, my best friend, warned me... I didn't listen. I came here and made a fool of myself and my uncle in front of thousands of people... Soul Reapers, Lieutenants, Captains and other candidates." Hatsu lowered his head, ashamed of the pictures forming in his mind. "I brought shame upon him. I only wanted him to be as proud of me as I was of him... But I made him hate me and brought him no end of taunts from other Soul Reapers inside the Seireitei.

He resented me for the hassle I caused him. I made his life difficult... When he finally decided to confront me about what I did, we argued... We both said horrible things out of anger and went our separate ways without saying sorry or goodbye... And a few days later... He died"

A tear sparkled in the corner of Hatsu's eye now but he forced it back.

I lowered my gaze. Yuu had told me the story from her perspective, she had been on the right lines but I could see how bad it must have been. Hatsu was still grief-stricken but had been good at hiding it for so long. Now that I thought about it, it explained why he had given me a mean look when we met and I had told him I aspired to become a Soul Reaper. He resented them.

"I never got to apologize or make up for my mistakes. I brought shame upon my family and their business and was bullied out of my village. I watch every day as Soul reapers treat people like me with distaste like we were pieces of meat, not people... So I vowed to become as strong as Uncle Ashido without having spiritual energy so I can prove them wrong and prove that I can be just as good as them." The tears seemed to be coming forward out of anger now, but he didn't care about forcing them back anymore. He raised his voice, becoming more confident to look them in the eyes.

"I vowed to make those people who laughed at me regret it and for the Soul Reapers to change their attitudes and start treating us better. I wanted to prove to them that not having spiritual energy doesn't make you a worthless life form, it doesn't make you inferior, you don't need it to be strong! We're still people, we still have dreams and we can be strong if we try!"

There was an awkward silence in the room for a moment. The Captains didn't say a word.

"I've worked hard for every day of my life since the day my uncle died in order to redeem myself, and here I am, supporting my apprentice," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at me and all eyes fell upon me again.

I wanted to melt into the floor away from them, but this was Hatsu's moment. I needed to be here for him. I could tell he was proud of me and the fact that he had trained me seemed to impress the Captains to an extent.

I stood up straight and proudly instead of hiding like a shy child. "We've both trained for countless years to get to this room right now, but even though Kimiko without a doubt has and some dormant abilities and a lot of potentials, I have made it here too, to the last phase of the exams, without spiritual energy. Doesn't that say something to you?!" He demanded.

The captains exchanged looks once again. "Indeed an impressive feat. I wouldn't have guessed from your scores..." Aizen mumbled shuffling through papers. "You have as much right as anyone to be proud of yourself and your student..." Aizen shot a kind smile and nod at me and my skin crawled like invisible insects were skittering over me. I looked away to Unohana points without returning the smile.

"Impressive but how do you expect the actions of one young boy to change the traditions and systems of the Soul Reapers that have been in place since the dawn of time?" the Head Captain demanded, cutting across Aizen.

Hatsu stuttered. Of course, he knew he wouldn't make them suddenly change the whole system just for him, he didn't expect that.

"The fact is that spiritual energy is the core of a Soul Reaper's power. Without it you would become more of a hindrance than a help" Unohana said, looking sympathetic and troubled at the same time. "I wish there was something we could do..."

"There is not, Retsu. The boy wasted his time. Even if anything could come from this day his uncle is gone. It makes no difference" The captain snapped getting more agitated by the minute. "Let us put this folly to an end-"

Hatsu suddenly bowed deeply and made them pause. "Thank you. Thank you for hearing me out and allowing me to clear this burden from my conscience. I hope that I can move on and leave the past behind now... Now that I have reached this point. This wasn't a waste of time for me. It was worth clearing my heart and I'm sure my uncle would have been pleased to see me come this far. That is all I truly wanted. I never expected to get into the academy or have the system change just for me, but I'm satisfied with the outcome today. Thank you for the opportunity." And with that, he straightened up and exited the room.

The other candidates and I watched him leave and looked back to the Captains feeling somewhat awkward. I wanted nothing more than to run after him and give him a huge hug... he looked like he needed nothing more than a good cry.

The Head Captain rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger and sigh.

Head Girl Kanisawa stepped forward. "Thank you all for coming today. It has been an impressive show of talent. You will receive your results in little over a month, I expect. We hope to see you as a student here in April. You are dismissed"

We stood and bowed as a group, but I was the first to leave the room at a run, swinging the strap on sword's sheath over my shoulder hastily.

I had to find him. I tried to think where he would be and assumed he would wait at the entrance or courtyard for me where we were to catch our carriage back home.

As I had expected he was waiting for me there looking very sullen.

"Are you okay?" I said running to him.

He simply nodded. I flung my arms around him, but he pushed me off with force.

"Hatsu I only want to comfort you! It's okay to show emotions and to cry! Get it off your chest, I promise you'll feel better... We're here for you, you know that, right?!" by we I meant Yuu and I. We often ranted to each other about things that were bothering us, cried to each other when something was bothering us or screamed at the top of our lungs when we were frustrated to get things off our chests. and we always felt better after, but Hatsu had never once done such a thing.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "I don't need your comfort or sympathy, just leave me alone" and he turned away from me towards our carriage.

I watched his retreating back. "I'm sorry..." I mumbled.

I followed, slowly climbing into the carriage behind him and sitting on the opposite side facing away from him so we didn't have to make eye contact.


	19. Hope & Promises

Chapter 19 - Hope & Promises

The time following the exams wasn't pleasant at all.

Hatsu hadn't spoken to me once since the exams a month ago. He had done his best to avoid me and was clearly acting off with everyone else too, though he blamed it on being 'Under the weather'.

I was forced to lie about the events of that day to everyone when all I really wanted to do was talk about it to anyone and everyone that would listen. But I held back, worried that if I started talking I wouldn't stop and I would let Hatsu's secret slip.

I knew full well that if one person found out it would make its way around the village like wildfire and back to Hatsu or Yuu and that would only cause problems for me.

I had expected this whole ordeal to make him feel better... after all, he did redeem he had gotten the soar subject of his chest to the people that mattered and got super far in the test, further than some who did have spirit energy, but it had just made him moodier and more reserved. It almost felt like that time we had fallen out over his harsh teaching methods all those years ago and I wasn't liking it one bit. We had promised Yuu that we would never do this again, but this time it wasn't me being stubborn.

And on top of all the drama, I was now growing more anxious by the day for the arrival of my results. The Headgirl had said they would arrive in around a month, but it had now been just over a month and I was getting worried that I had failed or they had forgotten about me.

I kept telling myself that there had been at least two thousand candidates. That was an awful lot of results to calculate and paperwork to compile, but thinking about that sheer number of people I was up against made me worried that some son of a duck would steal my spot.

And besides, Hatsu hadn't got a letter yet either. Unless he had but was keeping it from me, but he would never be that petty.

I had gotten into the habit of waking up early each morning and rushing to the check on our mail in my pajamas around sunrise, but nothing addressed to me ever arrived; Except maybe leftover cakes and sweets that the bakery was dumping on me instead of throwing away. Usually, I would complain about getting fat but eat them just because it pained me to waste perfectly good food, but at the moment I had too much stress in my life to care about putting weight on.

I didn't even know what to expect really. Would I be looking for a handwritten note, a posh looking formal letter or package? Coming from the Seireitei's offices it would look classy, surely.

Yoshino eventually got sick of me lingering around the manor like a pestilential cat while I waited for mail that was not likely to arrive any time soon and kicked me out between certain times of the day, arguing that I wasn't getting enough fresh air or sunlight and the letter wouldn't fly away in a bid for freedom if it arrived while I was out. She swore, hand on heart, that if it did arrive while I was out she would take good care of it.

I had no choice but to reluctantly accept her promise and get back to work for the villagers.

The results finally arrived when I had been least expecting it. I had been lazing around in the courtyard in front of my bedroom reading a rather interesting book about ghost stories and the ridiculous explanations living humans tried to put to supernatural encounters.

Of course, anyone living in the Soul Society had once been a ghost in the World of the Living so these stories were hilarious now that we could see them for what they really were, especially to the people who had actually played these tricks on the poor humans.

Except me of course, I couldn't remember anything before coming to the Soul Society, for all I knew I could have been a particularly vengeful spirit with all the 'Get out of my house!' and suspending people by their ankles above a toilet. Or I could have been boring and sat around waiting for Soul Reapers to help me out. Either way, I still saw the humor in the book.

It was just when I began thinking of these long-lost memories and the time during the final exam that my head had hurt that I heard loud footsteps approaching around the corner from inside the house.

Yuu came skidding around the corner like a cat with a rocket-fuelled jetpack. I stared down at her from my blossom tree with wide eyes as though she had gone insane when she held up an envelope. "I've... been looking for you... everywhere… this... just came" she said breathlessly.

My heart skipped a beat. I snapped my book shut not bothering to mark the page and leaped down.

I took the letter and looked it over once. I had been right to think it would stick out like a sore thumb. The envelope was a classy thick ivory paper and sealed with a deep purple wax seal in the shape of Chrysanthemum flower, the insignia of Squad One who dealt with all of the Seireitei's admin work.

I was about to break the seal with my thumb when Yuu grabbed my wrist. "Nu-uh. We agreed that we would be together when you got your results, remember?"

By 'we' she meant Hatsu. I suddenly felt sick. The moment I read my results was supposed to be exciting... but after what happened I knew I would feel guilty if I got in and Hatsu was there to hear about it. And the chances were that he would have a letter the same as mine, which would cause interrogation from Yuu.

But I couldn't argue. Yuu dragged me away by the hand before I could protest.

To our surprise, we met Hatsu halfway along the route between our homes.

"Fancy seeing you here!" Yuu said cheerfully.

"Thought I would pay you a visit," he said.

But over Yuu's shoulder, I gave him questioning eyes. He nodded to me and I saw the tip of the ivory paper envelope hidden up his sleeve.

It was the first time he had even acknowledged me in months.

"Kimi's results just arrived so we were coming to find you," Yuu said throwing an arm around my shoulder. "Where should we go to open it?"

Yuu really had no idea. He had managed to hide it from her completely.

"How about the old tree house by the river?"

"Perfect! I can't wait, let's go"

How are you gonna explain this one Hatsu... I thought when he still didn't confess what he had done.

When we arrived I immediately sat on my favorite tree stump, the smallest one closest to the water's edge. Not sure why that was my favorite, maybe because it was the one I had chosen the first time I came here. Yuu and Hatsu sat either side of me.

I took a deep breath. "What if I failed?" I asked quickly, scared to break that wax seal.

"You won't," Hatsu said, surprisingly not rolling his eyes and telling me to shut up with the negativity like he had done last time, but that nagging fear was so real to me at that moment that I couldn't help it. Yuu nodded agreement, smiling as though she was awaiting the moment to say: 'I told you so!'

I gulped. "Let's do this" I broke the seal and dropped the purple wax into my pocket. I read aloud:

"Dear Miss Murasaki,

Congratulations. We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted into the Shin-o Academy of Spiritual Arts for Soul Reapers following a successful exam entry."

At the very first word, my heart soared and my eyes welled up. I clapped a hand to my mouth to hold back a squeal of triumph. At the same time, Yuu gave a happy little scream and wrapped her around my shoulders, cradling my head in her chest.

"You did it! You did it! I knew you would! Well done! You wait till mom and dad find out!" I grinned and carried on reading.

"The school term begins on April 1st but please arrive on March 29th in order to settle into your accommodation and take part in induction activities.

Enclosed are the result of your exams.

We look forward to seeing you at the Academy,

Yours sincerely,

Chojiro Sasakibe, Lieutenant of Squad One and hand of the Head Captain, Yamamoto Genryusai"

I switched to a second paper and read out my results.

"Written exam: 55/60

Sword combat exam: 27/30

Hand to hand combat exam: 28/30

Spiritual pressure exam: 25/30

Total points: 135/150."

"Wow, you did really good!" Yuu said peering over my shoulder as a read.

"That's better than I expected. I bet my sword combat exam is low because of that moron I told you about..." but Yuu wasn't listening, she had turned away to look for Hatsu's reaction.

"What've you got there Hatsu?" I snapped my head up to see Hatsu holding the same paper and envelope and my heart sank.

"Is that…" Yuu muttered looking from my papers to his and back. And it clicked.

Oh god no… please... Not now... I thought, dreading the roasting he was about to receive.

"Hatsu did you take part in the exams? But… I thought you were going to support Kimi…" she looked at me and I looked away, guilt written all over my face for going along with the lie.

"You both lied to me? Hatsu why did you do it?! You know you can't do it! How many times have we told you not to and you completely ignored us and went along behind our backs!? I don't believ-" she began ranting, but he held up a hand to silence her. He had been looking down at his letter the whole time.

"...What does it say?" I asked cautiously knowing it probably wasn't good. He did not answer but instead handed the papers directly to me so I could read for myself. He rested his hand on his mouth looking like he didn't want to open it for fear of being sick.

Yuu was trying to crane over my shoulder but I turned away from her.

Dear Mister Hatsuka,

Though you achieved among the highest marks in this year's exam we simply cannot admit a person without Spiritual Energy to the ranks of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. I'm sure you understand the need for Spiritual Energy, without it many simple tasks cannot be performed as well as the lack of the Zanpakuto, a Soul Reaper's signature weapon.

So it is with regret that I inform you that you do not have a place at the Shin-o academy of Spiritual Arts.

However, I was personally moved by your speech to the Captains of Squads One, Four, and Five. It was exceedingly brave of you to come forward like that under such circumstances, and in my eyes, after seeing you fight, you would make a splendid Soul Reaper. We were unaware that you had no spiritual energy until you confessed and I would have admitted you as a student at the academy based on first three exams alone. I genuinely believed you to be one of the stronger candidates in the group.

I would also like to give you a little hope.

It seemed to me that you do not know the circumstances of the disappearance of your uncle, Ashido Kano, who was the 4th seat of Squad 13 at the time.

Squad One have enclosed your individual exam results along with something you may find interesting. I that this helps to put your mind a rest.

Yours sincerely.

Kanadeko Kanisawa, Head Girl of the Shino-o Academy of Spiritual Arts for Soul Reapers.

I quickly switched to his results:

Written exam: 59/60

Sword combat exam: 30/30

Hand to hand combat exam: 27/30

Spiritual pressure exam: 0/30

Total points: 116

I gave a little laugh at the numbers. I knew he was good but that was ridiculous. "If you'd have got the same result as me or higher in the Spirit exam you would have beat me" I laughed looking up.

"Let me see!" Yuu was whining and I held it up for her to scan over. "Wow..." Is all she managed.

I glanced over for his reaction but he looked miserable, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped and chin on his hands, staring at the ground, leg shaking as he rested on a nerve. He didn't react so I switched to the final paper.

To my confusion, it was a report from that was dated to being just over hundred and fifty years old. It was only a very brief overview of the one incident.

"Incident details: A huge hollow attack took place in the World of the Living, Karakura town in west Tokyo."

I felt a small stab of pain in my head at the name of the town and felt as though I recognized the name from somewhere, but ignored this and carried on reading.

"A unit of seven armed officers was dispatched to the location to access and deal with the problem. For an unknown reason the leader of the unit headed into an open Garganta after a retreating Adjuchas without permission, and the rest of his unit followed.

Their Spiritual pressures vanished completely when the Garganta closed behind them.

Another unit was sent to deal with the remaining hollows and to attempt to recover the lost unit, but it was unsuccessful. The unit disappeared without a trace and never returned. After Investigations we assume that they are trapped in Hueco Mundo, the homeland of the hollows.

Number of Causalities: Unknown

Number of fatalities: Unknown"

Beneath this it gave the pictures of the seven missing Soul Reapers, including the young man who resembled Hatsu so closely but with a longer chin and longer hair that was closer to red than brown, and their statuses besides their pictures: all M.I.A, Missing in action.

I looked up with my mouth ajar. Hatsu was still staring at the floor miserably.

"Dude, don't you know what this means?" he didn't answer. "It means he could still be alive! All this time you were thinking he was dead but he was never confirmed dead-"

"I don't seriously think he would have survived in Hueco Mundo against so many hollows for so long, do you? It's been almost two hundred years... He wouldn't have lasted that long, maybe a few months at best"

"You don't know that! Look Hatsu, I know it was your Uncle who taught you everything you know. I know it was him who owned the Dojo back at your family home and ran the Kendo club and classes."

Hatsu's head snapped up utter confusion spreading across his face "How did you-" then he cut off and shot a filthy look at Yuu, who whirled around with an elegant swish of her pale pink Kimono and black hair. It could only be Yuu, she was the only person left who knew these things of his past... and he trusted her.

"Don't look at me like that," she said simply, putting her nose in the air snootily.

"There's no point keeping secrets." I continued, defending Yuu. "I know you've been ashamed of what you did all of these years and you've tried to cover it all over by erasing your uncle's touch from everything and giving all the credit to your father instead. I know you were closer to him than your father, but do you really think trying to erase him like that is the right thing to do? If he's dead or still alive, he wouldn't want that- and YES. Yuu told me everything but that doesn't matter! Stop looking so pissed off!" I said raising my voice out of anger, getting more and more worked up with every word and he averted his eyes in shame.

"I know that... I know erasing him is an insult to his memory... But if I try to pretend it was my father who did all of those things... if I try to change my own memories it hurts less...Think about it Kimi, If we had been on good terms when it happened I would have known the details of his disappearance and made sure more was done to find him, but I was told he was dead-"

Out of nowhere, I slapped him and he froze, allowing to stinging red mark to blossom on his right cheek. "Stop it and get a hold of yourself! Stop blaming yourself! Being on good terms with him wouldn't have stopped his from happening, he was on duty doing his job!" I shouted down him trying to emphasize each word as if to drill their meanings into his brain. "Hatsu... you don't know what it's like to have no memories... to wake up in some strange place with no memory whatsoever... to have these images in your head that you can't make sense of no matter how many times they blind you and give you headaches... Yeah, they calmed down for years... but every so often something triggers a memory and it happens again... I WANT to remember, I want to know who was and where I came from... but I can't... and here you are trying to erase the truth and trying to run away from the past! Do you know how much that hurts? You should cling on to those memories for dear life because when they're gone..."

I saw tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry..."

I shook my head. "Me too. I don't mean to be so harsh but... Look. I swear to by this little slip of paper-" I waved my boarding pass that gave me access to my dormitory and temporary ID card that had been sitting in the bottom of the envelope "That when I have graduated and become a real Soul Reaper, I will go to Hueco Mundo and bring him back, dead or alive... I swear it!"

Hatsu finally smiled weakly. "Thank you..."

"You don't have to thank me. He doesn't deserve to be forgotten about in a godforsaken place like that... He belongs here. Please have a little hope"

"Your right. I guess that's one of the things that hurt so much... I thought that he had died in such a place... Maybe even alone... But now I have a reason to hope. It's always possible that he survived and I believe in your ability... I know you'll bring him back if you can. But if worst comes to worst at least he died fighting." and without warning, tears began to spill and he sobbed openly.

Yuu rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly encouraging him to let it all out. She gave him a tiny kiss on the forehead. "You should have told me... I'm here for you. It's okay let it all out, you'll feel better after I promise"

And with that, I turned away to leave and give them some privacy. I felt like I had finally gained Hatsu's full trust after so long and I vowed mentally to keep that promise.


	20. Fairwell my Friend

**Chapter 20 - Farewell my Friend**

Yoshino, Shinsetsu, and Granny Chie heard the news when we arrived home alone a while later and they bombarded me with praise and affection. I couldn't help but think they had been waiting for my return, it seemed odd that all three of them would be lingering around the living and dining rooms at this time of day. Yuu must have told them before she came to find me.

Yoshino had the maids all pull together to cook an extravagant dinner in celebration that included all of my favourite foods. They were all genuinely over the moon for me and Shin couldn't quite believe it. He kept muttering things like: "My daughter... First in 150 years..." to himself and shaking his head in tones of pride and disbelief.

Yuu and Yoshino, however, were two peas in a pod. Yuu came wondering in with Hatsu just in time for the feast, openly holding his hand which I had to stifle a huge smirk at, it was about time they made it official. Though she wore a pained, almost lost expression. Like our mother, she saw this as a reminder that they would soon be losing me and didn't see it as a means to celebrate but did anyway so not to seem selfish.

Needless to say, by morning the villagers were bombarding me too but I didn't bother to ask how they knew, I was so used to being the centre of gossip around here by now and didn't really care how it came to be.

People wished me congratulations left, right and centre, some even gave me gifts, which I appreciated a lot.

"Why do they expect so much of me?" I asked feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the attention.

"Sometimes you can be so dense, you know," Yuu said rolling her eyes.

"Shut up and explain"

"Because they trust you! You came into this world as a frightened kid with no memories who was taken in by the leading family of the village, yet you didn't let your position of power get to your head. You got involved and helped the people even though you had no obligation to. They are thankful for everything you've done and have put their faith in you because they know you are strong, talented and reliable"

"You've given them hope," Hatsu concluded. I thought about all the silly little things I had done for these people over the years, even stuff like helping them carry a heavy wooden crate into a shop. Simple things. But had those acts of kindness really made such an impact?

"All I did was be myself..."

"And that is exactly what they love about you. You're not snobbish, rude or superior. You are just Kimi. They love Yuu, but you are just a typical tomboy, none of the frills and lady-like acts. What you see is what you get."

"She'll beat you up if she hears you say that you know," I said pointing at Yuu who had stopped to talk to someone. "She was the one brought up to be a proper Lady, I wasn't" I laughed as Yuu came jogging toward them, holding up the hem of her Kimono out of the dirt and pulling along a child by the hand that wanted to ask me about the exams.

"Yeah, don't tell her I said it. Just enjoy yourself while you can."

Leaving day arrived quicker than I expected. As the days drew closer time seemed to speed up. All I wanted to do was spend time with the people I loved but before I could blink it was time to leave.

As always when I knew something important was about to happen I had a sleepless night. I lay on my futon staring up at the ceiling until giving up on sleep and sitting on the roof instead, looking up at the stars. I spent those few final hours fantasizing of the upcoming moments when I would meet my roommates, move into my room, take my first lesson, where I would sit in the class and simple details like that. I was determined to make a good impression on the first people I met so I wouldn't be a loner. That was probably my biggest fear ahead. The risk of not fitting in after so many years of being treated like Harumachi's prized possession.

As the sun began to rise I finished off the last of my packing.

It was amazing how much junk I had accumulated over the years. My closets and cupboards were all full of stuff that I didn't even remember acquiring in the first place.

Some things were far too big to take with me, like the large-scale model of the academy that Shin had moved to a guest room to make more space in my bedroom years ago. I had been memorizing it since I got my place. Surely, I would be given a map, but at least I had a decent idea of its layout in case I lost my map or something.

It pained me, but I also had to leave behind my instruments. Since Granny had taught me how to play string instruments I had amassed quite the collection of my own, but I couldn't see a reason for me to take them with me and they were too big to carry. Maybe I would treat myself to something new when I arrived instead.

Eventually, after emptying and repacking to get rid of unnecessary things at least five times, I ended up with a large suitcase full of clothes and my two favourite Kimono's in case there were ever any formal occasions or festivals (I gave the rest to Granny Chie to look after as they were too small for Yuu), a backpack full of gifts from the villagers and food (no chance would I let those munchies go to waste... I would be craving them after a few months away from the bakery) and a small shoulder bag for my documents so I didn't lose them.

I looked myself over in the mirror before heaving my luggage out of my room, just to make sure I didn't look stupid. Nope. I looked pretty normal with my hair down, a thin long sleeved red shirt, black shirts and black tights underneath.

I gave myself a little pep talk though it probably wouldn't make me feel any better.

 ** _Deep breaths. I'm just off to school, that's all. I should be excited! I'm moving away from my family, but they'll always be here, I'll always find time to visit. Don't cry, be strong! Show them what you're made of!_**

I headed straight for the front courtyard knowing that the carriage would be there in a few minutes and to my surprise found half the of the village and my family waiting for me, the family standing at the front gate while the villagers lined the path either side.

They all gave a little cheer and some people shouted "Surprise!" As I dragged my suitcase out of the front door.

"What the... What are you all doing here..." I asked bewildered.

"They came to see you off, dummy!" Yuu called, approaching with Hatsu from the front gate. "The carriage will be here in a minute but they all wanted to say goodbye"

I felt my eyes fill up but forced the rivers back. "That's so nice of them..." I said not knowing what to say but wanted to keep it short, so they didn't notice the cracking of my voice.

"Kimi, before you go I just wanted... to apologize," Hatsu said.

I blinked. "What for? There's nothing to be sorry about-"

"There is, and I can't make up for it in this lifetime- I'm sorry for the way I was with you for so many years. Strict, Harsh, reserved and downright rude." I felt awkward standing there holding a backpack and suitcase with a silently onlooking crowd and couldn't help but fidgeted slightly. "The truth is when I first met you I planned to use you for my own personal gain... As you know I hated Soul Reapers but when you asked me for my help I saw it as an opportunity to train myself and use you as a route to get back at the Soul Reapers and prove myself..."

I stared at him in understanding. I remembered that day. I had practically begged him for his guidance and he had taken a while to think about, and now I knew why. I had probably been making plans, waying up his options.

"The reason I was so harsh with you was that I was so impatient to clear my own conscience and you were the only way for me to do that... But you weren't improving. I grew frustrated with your lack of progress and lashed out. After I came back to fight you I thought you were just a stupid kid with more ambition than talent but you proved me wrong. From there on started to respect you.

Once I finally cleared my name I truly regretted everything I had done wrong. I regret not treating you well, you truly trusted me as my apprentice... I may have trained you in the beginning but you far surpassed me years ago. Without you I wouldn't have gotten stronger, I wouldn't have passed those exams, made it into that room with the Captains... I wouldn't know the truth about my uncle... I wouldn't have Yuu..." He gripped my sister's hand and she smiled serenely as she gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. I noticed the villagers looking a bit confused due to not knowing anything about Hatsu's involvement in all of this, and the fact that Yuu wasn't crying told me that they had already spoken about this.

He bowed his head. "I owe you everything Kimi... I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me someday..."

I gave him a rough whack on the arm and he let go of Yuu's hand with a yelp. "What was that for?"

"You idiot! I swore I wouldn't cry, but you organised for everyone to come and say bye, then you do this in front of them! Idiot!" I sobbed hysterically, whacked him again causing him to jump back in fear.

"Calm down-"

"It's already hard enough to leave you all! Of course, I forgive you, I don't care! You may have been an asshole but I equally wouldn't be here now without your help, we are equal... Got it?!" I sobbed in a rush. **_Show them what you're made of,_** I reminded myself with a hiccup of irony as I wiping my eyes on my sleeves. I'm made of jelly, I fall to pieces around them.

"Kimi no one cares if you cry. It doesn't mean you are weak, It just shows how much you care" Yuu laughed as a black carriage pulled up outside the gate.

Shin and Yoshino helped to carry my luggage while she said goodbye to the villagers.

I had to rush but quickly I turned back to Hatsu. "I guess this is goodbye then..." I hiccupped from the leftover sobs, wiping my puffy red eyes again.

He shook his head. "Your schedule will be busy but you have weekends off if you want to come and visit"

"So why is everyone acting like I'll be gone forever..."

"It won't be the same without you being here constantly. Now quickly else you'll be late!" Yuu said in a rush, she was always one for punctuality.

"Kimi!" Hatsu called to me back. "Let's start over like we should have in the beginning, okay?" he held out his hand to shake hers. "Hey, I'm Takuya Hatsuka, nice to meet you," he said with a smile.

It took me a moment to understand. Takuya... So that's his full name. I smiled and took his hand. "I'm Kimiko Murasaki, nice to meet you." I jumped on him and hugged him. "It only took you nearly fifty years, idiot!"

He laughed and held me at arm's length. "You better keep on training, you hear me. Next time we meet you I wanna see what you've learned"

I nodded and leaned into his ear. "You better look after my sister while I'm gone. Break her heart and I'll break your neck."

I could swear I saw him shiver as I pulled away. "Isn't it an older Brother's job to threaten the boyfriend, not the younger sister?" he smirked.

"There is no older brother here so I'm the next best thing. I can do just as much damage as any guy!"

I hugged my parents before hopping into the carriage and watching a huge old dark mahogany colour Japanese manor and cheering, waving people rolling out of sight. I leaned out of the window, waving back and blowing kisses, finally looking forward to the new chapter of my life that was about to unfold.

AN: -Wails hysterically and blows nose- My baby is finally growing up!


	21. A Fresh Start

A/N: Thanks Griff212 for pointing out the upload problem for me. Not sure why it happens, I'm not using google docs just Copy+Paste from Word :S

 **Chapter 21 - A Fresh Start**

As the carriage trundled down the now familiar route, one piece of advice that Granny Chie had once given me stuck in my mind: Don't dwell on things.

The more I thought about what I was leaving behind the more homesick I felt, and I hadn't even crossed the border to district one yet. I decided to put my past behind me; Not to forget it entirely, how was I supposed to forget almost fifty years worth of fond memories? But in order to pursue my future to its fullest, I could not allow the past to hold me back. That would be what my family would want for me too.

I smiled at the again familiar sight of the white and golden-roofed building as my carriage pulled up to the pavement directly outside the courtyard entrance as it had for the exams. I had only been here twice before but strangely I felt as though I knew the place already.

The carriage driver dropped a set of steps and helped me and my luggage down.

Immediately I felt stares and whispers on my back and I switched to self-conscious mode. No matter how much I didn't like to admit it, I looked like a snobby rich kid right now. The majority of new students filing onto the campus grounds around me wore ragged, tattered clothes, some didn't even wear shoes, and some were carrying just a blanket with all of their worldly possessions wrapped inside. And there I was, climbing out of a shiny black carriage drawn by a majestic looking steed, clothes of rich, expensive and good quality materials that carried my family crest on the back, with two bags, a suitcase full of possessions and my gleaming Onyx sword at my sword.

I was tempted to let my hair down out of its tie knowing that it would cover the cherry blossom crest on my back, not that there was much chance of anyone recognizing it around here but it told everyone that I belonged to a wealthy family.

 ** _Why are you so ashamed?_** A voice that sounded like Hatsu's asked inside my head. **_Your family would tell you to flaunt your house colours with pride!_**

Having a crest emblazoned on my clothing was like having a neon light above your head saying 'Rich kid, come and bully me and hate me!' and that was the last thing I wanted to be labelled as. Unlike some of the kids here I wasn't a case of 'all money no talent'.

I took a deep breath and held my head high, looking straight ahead as I walked and ignoring the eyes glaring at me.

Instead of the long endless queues that had greeted Hatsu and I the last time we were here, I saw a long row of tall whiteboards with writing dashed across them at the front of the courtyard with people crowded around them.

Students, already dressed in their uniforms to make them stand out from the rest of a crowd, red and white for girls and red white and blue for boys, were calling instructions over the babble of noise.

"First years find your name on the boards!"

"First-year boys this way for your accommodations!" A group of male students called to the left, taking it in turns to escort groups to their rooms.

"First-year girls this way!" Called another group of girls on the opposite side of the yard.

A handsome young man in white and blue with messy dark hair and markings on the side of his face kindly offered to hold my suitcase while I quickly checked the boards.

I left my suitcase with the boy and rushed forward, finally thankful for my petiteness that allowed me to squeeze past people like a mouse.

I watched as a group of boys that looked more like barrels with legs pushed a girl over as if she were a bowling pin as they forced through the crowds to the front. No wonder they're so stressed, having to organize this rowdy bunch…

My eyes skimmed across the board, searching quickly so I could get out of there and not have to risk being crushed.

"J... K... L… M… Ma.. Mu.. Ah! Murasaki-"

Name: Murasaki, Kimiko (A*); Residence: Emerald Plateau.

 ** _What does that A* mean?_** I wondered but before I could consult the boards for its definition I was being ushered along to make way for more people.

Flustered, I looked around for my luggage, thanked the guy for his help and jogged along with some difficulty to a student girl who was now walking away with a group calling "Emerald Plateau this way!"

She led us into the main building and along the corridors for a few long minutes before deciding to break the awkward, nervous silence with the girl nearest to her.

"So, you are living in Emeralds? It's the best I promise you!" She said cheerfully. "The dorms are separated into houses and believe me things can get quite competitive. The guys-" she pointed out of the window to a large Japanese style building with a rusty red roof in the distance. There were more of them with different coloured roofs in the further back forming a sort of small village cul-de-sac. "They live in those dorms, but the girls live over here," told us pointing again as we stepped out of the main building and onto a long winding cobblestone road.

Directly in front of us was another Japanese style building; A roof of umber black wood and walls of pale green. Outside and to the left of the doors sat a willow tree, surrounded by small neatly kept gardens, protected from the road by a low stone wall.

The cobblestones were doing a number on my suitcase wheels. They were getting stuck between them repeatedly and it took all of my strength to heave them out quickly and not get left behind by the group. I began to wonder why I had decided to bring so much with me, but I was thankful to see that a low slope led up to the towering wooden doors to the left as well as steps.

"This is the Emerald Plateau, the best girl's dorm... But that's what everyone will tell you about their house" the girl laughed. "It's the largest and the only one and its called the Plateau because it has a great view overlooking the grounds around the back, which I'm sure you'll see at some point. The others don't have such a good view… except maybe Sapphire. They have a view of the lake too but nothing else. If you carry on along the road and up the hill, you'll find Ruby Hall, Sapphire Isle, Diamond Pavillion and Crystal Court"

She leaned against the door that led into the entrance hall, keeping it open for those with suitcases and making sure everyone was present. We lingered around for a few moments for the last few straddlers to catch up which gave me a chance to look around.

The inside of the building was of almost the same colour scheme as the outside. The walls were a shade of jade green similar to my bedroom back home which was comforting, the ceiling was high and, like the floor was the same color as the outside, a dark shade black-brown wood that was plunged into darkness at the top where the light of a bronze chandelier did not reach. Long tea-washed brown sliding doors with landscapes and animals hand painting in colored inks led off to other rooms and corridors.

I spotted menacing looking gargoyles staring down at me as if scrutinizing my every movement, looking for wrong-doers and I made a mental note not to take trips down here at night.

Finally, someone clapped loudly for their silence and attention. To my surprise, it was the Head girl who had lead my group through the exams.

"Alright settle down. My name is Kanisawa, I'm the Head Girl of this academy and the house president for Emeralds" she said prodding at the sword-shaped emerald pin on her chest that was next to another golden pin with the Shino-o academy logo. "But there's no point giving you a full introduction, that will come later. For now, let's get you into your rooms" the way she said this it seemed like she had said it a million times today already and was stuck on a replay loop.

One by one we handed our boarding passes to her and a few other girls. They checked them, redirecting anyone who was in the wrong house and handed room keys to everyone else. They also handed out maps of the academy and the layout of the dorm building.

I received my key and checked the number. Number sixteen.

I checked the map. My room was up on the second floor which meant…

I turned to look at the grand staircase at the far end of the room and felt my arms scream in protest. I almost shouted out loud at my key for doing this to me but thought better of it. I didn't want to be labelled as insane before I even started classes.

I sighed and marched off to tackle my fate, shoving the key into my pocket angrily.

Luckily a student was walking down one of the corridors that branched off of the landing at the top and rushed to help me. I found it strange how there were no teachers or Soul Reapers in sight, not like at the exams. Had this whole thing been organized by the students?

When I reached my room I found the door ajar and heard voices inside. I gulped. ** _Here we go, time to make a good impression._**

I knocked on the door and nudged it open, hearing the voices stop. The room was small and square, with a little kitchenette on the left wall as I entered and the rest of the room was a living area complete with dining table, coffee table, and a bookcase.

A girl's head popped out of the first bedroom on the left. "Oh hello! You must be our last roommate!" She said cheerfully walking out.

She was small but still taller than me with short brown hair tied into two piggy tails at the nape of her neck by red bead hair ties, wearing a light pink Yukata. Her whole demeaned was infectiously cheerful. "I'm Momo Hinamori, but you can just call me Momo" she held out her hand to shake mine, but just then the other girl wondered out of the first room on the left.

To my surprise... It was Rukia Abarai who I recognised immediately from the exams. It seemed that she had recognized me too, she seemed just as a surprise as I was and looked away awkwardly. I thought about this quickly. The last thing I wanted was tension between the girls I would be living with for the next few years. And truthfully Rukia had done nothing wrong, it was her brother that had been an asshole to me.

 ** _Drop it, it's not her you hold a grudge with,_** I told herself.

"Hey, Rukia was it? We were in the exams together" I smiled kindly and she seemed to loosen up a bit.

"Yeah, I remembered" She muttered fidgeting. Then she suddenly sank into a bow.

"I apologize for what happened in the exam. My brother was an idiot but please don't hold it against him, he didn't mean anything by it!" Her words tumbled out.

I didn't answer right away. I doubted that highly, he meant everything he did. He had stooped lower than low in that exam not only physically hurting me but by winning by cheating and jeopardizing my prospects. That laugh he gave when he saw me fall had been the icing on the cake. Just thinking about it made my blood boil; However, I wasn't prepared to have tension between my roommates because of an idiot like that. The best thing would be to agree even if I didn't mean it, just for the sake of keeping the peace.

"Forget about it, it's in the past." I heard myself say. Not bad. I had neither agreed or disagreed but I did feel hypocritical, telling Rukia to forget about it when I had no intention of doing so. If he was here too I would give him hell if I ever saw him. "I'm Kimiko Murasaki, but you can call me Kimi," I said accepting Momo's handshake and then offering my hand to Rukia too.

She accepted with a relieved smile.

Momo looked nervously between us, deducing that something had happened but not wanted to get involved. "I'm sorry, we already chose our rooms so you have the last one on the left, the bathroom is this one here," Momo said slightly guiltily pointing to my room, then to the one next to it.

"No problem, first come first served. I better start unpacking, it might take a while" I said with a nod towards my pile of luggage.

"We're nearly done so just call if you need a hand with anything" Momo smiled again and skipped back into her room leaving the sliding door ajar.

I heaved my suitcase to my own room.

It was less than a quarter of the size of my room back home but had the same colour scheme, dark wood floors, and pale mint green walls so it felt like someone had shrunk my room. I wasn't bothered at all though. My room had often felt empty and lonely with so much empty space, this one more suited such a small girl.

Directly next to the door on the left as I entered was a closet that filled the wall. To the right was my bed, a bunk with a little ladder leading to the mattress and a desk below. In front of the door was a floor-to-ceiling window slightly concealed with dark curtains.

"Cosy" I muttered dumping my backpack on the cushioned chair at the desk. It was all very basic compared to what I was used to but I liked it in a strange way. It made me feel independent like I had moved out of my parent's home to my own little apartment.

I set straight to unpacking to get it over and done with. I knew that if I didn't my room would end up looking like a laundry room or clothing store within a few days.

When it became unbearably stuffy from moving around I reached to open a window which was actually a door that led to my own private balcony overlooking the grounds.

So this is why it's called the plateau I thought, watching the light breeze rolling over the lush green grounds far below, picking up pink petals that swirled like brightly coloured dust from the ancient looking cherry blossom at the centre. Even from so far above on this hill the tree made my own back home look like a sapling in comparison.

Over to the left was a huge lake, shimmering in the sunlight. I stood in the doorway taking deep breaths before continuing but just then a knock came and Momo poked her head in her already ajar door.

"This just came under our door," she said waving a green slip of paper. I took it and read:

Welcome meeting for all new emerald girls. 2 pm in the Main Hall downstairs. Please make sure to attend.

It was signed by K. Kanisawa the Head girl.

"There's only half an hour left so if you like the three of us can go down together, best not to be late"

"I'll be glad for a break," I said stretching.

Momo called for Rukia who shouted her reply from the bathroom, swearing that she wouldn't be much longer.

We soon found that Rukia liked to take forever in the bathroom. We sat waiting for her for another fifteen minutes. "Not much longer she said..." I mumbled flicking through an old book from the bookshelf in the living area.

Momo looked a bit worried too, she was probably one of those people who worried about being late for things like my Sister.

"Rukiaaa, come on already!" she called and Rukia suddenly emerged from the bathroom with a toothbrush in her mouth. I couldn't help but blink. Now that Rukia had finally cleaned up she looked totally different. Her hair was no longer matted and full of dirt but sleek, straight and shiny with a natural flick that followed the curve of her shoulders. Now that she had scrubbed off the layer of dust from her skin we could see that she had a flawless fair complexion.

She held up a finger to signify 'one more minute', mint toothpaste dribbling from her mouth slightly and she dived back into the bathroom before it could drip on the tatami floor.

I looked at Momo and she gave a little smile of recognition.

"I borrowed her some of my old clothes that I don't really wear anymore just until she can go into town and buy her own. She bought nothing of her own, can you believe that!?" Momo said in a hushed voice sounding scandalized.

In fact, I could believe it. Not everyone was wealthy like me, and Momo didn't seem to be exactly poor either.  
"She looks totally different"

Momo giggled. "Well let's hope that the physical transformation echoes a mental transformation, she needs to lighten up already."


	22. Emerald Vs Iron

**Chapter 22 - Emeralds vs. Iron**

"Do you really need that long in the bathroom?" Momo asked bouncing out of her seat when Rukia finally emerged again.

I jumped up and grabbed my sword that was leaning against the inside wall of my room.

"I'm Sorry! I was enjoying myself, I've never felt this clean before" she said glancing into the mirror next to the door after ruffling her hair up with a towel. In its reflection, she spotted me with my sword. "Wait, why are you taking that?"

"Huh?" I followed her eyes down to Onyx in my hand. "Ohh right! Just a habit I guess, I'm just so used to carrying it around everywhere with me" I laughed awkwardly and put it back down.

"Did you expect to be attacked on our way downstairs?" Momo giggled as we jogged out of the door and she locked it behind us.

"Who knows, anything could happen in this place," I said, knowing this was nothing like a normal school. Normal schools don't train kids on how to fight and defend again monsters for starters.

We made it just in time. As we walked through the large double doors of the main hall just off the downstairs entrance hall someone called the standing crowd of first years to attention.

At the front of the room was a stage and podium, on which stood an elderly woman in long white and black robes. Being so short I could barely see over the crowd but from what I could tell the woman looked kinda like a nun because of her attire. Her only visible flesh was her face and hands, her hair was covered by a hat with trails of long white fabric hanging from it, almost like a cape.

"Good afternoon ladies and welcome to the Shino-o Spiritual Arts Academy for aspiring Soul Reapers" she spoke very slowly and croakily. I gave Rukia and Momo a look that said quite plainly: 'Make yourselves comfy, we'll be here for a while.'

"I am the head matriarch, representative of female faculty and students and owner of the ladies' dormitories. You may not know much about this prestigious school now, but after you take your history lessons you will find out that female Soul Reapers did not always belong here. Over these long years we have fought for the school to become what it is today, a fair and family-like community with one common goal: To raise and train young people like you into the soldiers of tomorrow" she waved her hands across the crowd "Regardless of gender or background" she paused to give a kindly smile down at us all.

"As the head representative of women at this establishment, I specifically deal with major matters concerning the women of this academy, such a financial and disciplinary matters. But more of that later. I would like to congratulate each and every one of you on successfully entering the academy and I hope that over the next six years, all of you will work hard and achieve your goal of qualifying to become Soul Reapers, but most importantly, you enjoy your time here while it lasts.

Let me introduce you to your Head Girl of the Emerald Plateau, Head of the Student Council and Head of the Disciplinary Comity, 6th Year Kanadeko Kanisawa" The matriarch bowed and tottered off the stage with a wooden cane to allow the girl from earlier to take the stage.

Before even speaking or introducing herself, Kanisawa took a moment to stare at the crowd. I got the impression that she was x-raying each of us in turn, kind of like the gargoyles stationed high up in the hallways, and I shivered at the thought of my every movement being watched.

"Good afternoon ladies. As the Head Girl of the Emerald Plateau, Head of the Student Council and Head of the Disciplinary Comity, it is my job to watch over the girls of the Shino-o academy and represent you in all of your affairs. Allow me to explain my rolls:

My three different rolls do have interlinking responsibilities. As the head of the Disciplinary comity-" she jabbed a thumb at the red band on her upper left arm that I had not noticed before as it blended in well with the red strips on her uniform. It had a golden hand with its palm facing flat up as if you tell you to stop. "I am in charge of all disciplinary matters for all students.

I will patrol the corridors and I have the authorization to issue detentions and other disciplinary punishments to any wrongdoers. My comity members and I are also authorized, under extreme circumstances, to apprehend students by force or take them into custody for severe or illegal crimes. These are included in the handbook we gave you on your way into the room so please read it carefully." I looked around and saw Momo scoop a spare handbook from a table next to the door and start flicking through it. "I will not allow foul behaviour on this campus. Within my presence or without. Be assured that if you do something wrong, be it a crime or the slightest miss demeanour, I will know about it."

She paused to let the gravity of her warning sink it. I took it as a clear threat that said 'Behave, or else."

The room was deadly silent. We were all holding our breath. Too scared to even creek a floorboard. No one dared to exhale in case Kawisawa pounced on them. Evidently, she saw the effect of her speech and gave a heavily forced, awkward smile.

"On a lighter note, as the Head Girl of the Student Council," she showed the smaller golden C shaped pin beside her Emerald pin. "I am in charge of the students in general. My team and I will be holding ceremonies, making announcements and sending messages and updates of things going on around the campus regularly, including shows and events which must all gain authorization from us. Also if you wish to notify us of any problems around campus we have an office in the main building. We will look into any issues that are brought forward. As the Head of Emeralds-" she jabbed her thumb again at the emerald pin on her chest, "I have the similar job as Head of the School Council but specifically within this dormitory. I am in charge of the building and all of its residents; I guess you could call it my turf. If you wish to host any club or social events in these halls or you have any ideas for structural improvements, you must submit a formal request document to be reviewed by me and my council. If you have any problems regarding the building, your roommates, another student, your classes or another matter... please feel free to come and speak with me or one of my team confidentially. We are here for you and I will try to help in any way possible.

This academy does have rules. No fighting outside of the facilities that the academy provides, all swords must be carried in the grey bags we provide for you and must not be wielded outside of the classroom, no illegal activities, no drugs or alcohol, no leaving your dorm after 10 pm curfew without written permission and lastly but most importantly, No boys get past this hall." She said the last part slowly and deliberately to make sure everyone heard, pausing to glare at us.

She had done a decent job at lightening the mood after her first, rather threatening speech but there she went again with the threats.

"It's fine to have study sessions that include male students, but they are allowed no further than the edge of the stairs to the first floor outside of this room. The same goes for the boy's dorms and the other girl's dorms. Any boys caught past that point or girls caught smuggling them in will be punished. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a nervous mumble of "Yes Ma'am" similar to when she had explained the rules in our sword combat exam but everyone seemed much more on edge. If Kanisawa had been someone less intimidating, I could imagine that the mention of boys in girls dorms would get giggles and childish reactions, but no one here dared in fear of being reprimanded.

"Good. Now there are a few things we need you to do before your first day. In the few rooms along the corridor are booths I would like you to visit in order to receive your uniforms, ID, and timetables. I also suggest that you take the time to plan a route to your classrooms so you don't get lost on your first day. That s all for now and once again, welcome to the family." she bowed and walked off the stage.

The crowd finally released its breath and began speaking again.

"Wow…" Momo sighed, her nose still buried in the booklet looking just as shocked by what she was reading and what she had just heard. "This place has strict policies."

"No kidding... That girl is not one to cross..." Rukia said folding her arms with a frown.

"Well, as long as we don't do anything wrong we won't cross her," I said logically, but Rukia didn't look convinced.

"You try telling that to my brother..."

My stomach leapt. I had temporarily forgotten about that idiot, but it dawned upon me that our meeting would be inevitable with Rukia being my roommate, and the chances of me getting into trouble for ripping his throat out were high... suddenly I wasn't convinced that I could stick to the rules either.

"Let's just be ourselves" Momo smiled.

"And what if it's in your nature to misbehave?" Rukia asked cringing.

"You're screwed" I grinned imagining the sight of Renji being kicked out of the school for being an ass. The idea gave me a sick sense of satisfaction.

"Let's go sort out these timetables and stuff," Momo said and we left the room, Rukia and I snatching up a pair of handbooks as we went.

"'I'm curious as to what Kanisawa considers an Illegal crime," I said.

Rukia made a Tsk sound and looked over both shoulders sarcastically. "Probably talking in the corridors" which made Momo giggle again.

"Oh stop" Momo sang back, "I think she's just misunderstood. I don't think she is really that obsessed with discipline"

"Come on Momo, she has every badge of honour possible, shes obviously one of those people who is obsessed with power and being the almighty ruler of the universe. I mean, come on, who in their right mind actually wants to be the head of three major societies, especially in their last year of school? Can you even imagine how much responsibility that is?" Rukia pointed out.

"Obviously the workload doesn't bother her," I shrugged, "just stay as far away from her as possible-"

"Is there a problem, Ladies?" a far too familiar voice interrupted from behind us. We froze like wide-eyed statues.

With the air of someone trying not to step on an angry snake, I turned to see Kanisawa. Now that we were face to face she didn't look so Intimidating. She was barely a few inches taller than Momo, the tallest of the three of us, and she was wearing a curious expression, not her x-ray glare.

"N-no, everything is fine Ma'am! No problems at all!" I stammered, trying to come up with a cover story on the spot in case she had caught some of our conversations.

Kanisawa raised an eyebrow, sensing the lie by my sudden nervous jitter.

"Kimiko was just talking about my older sister! They met before and didn't really get along well, nothing serious though!" Rukia said jumping in front of me defensively.

Her eyebrows went higher, now concerned. "And your sister's name is?"

I could almost hear Rukia's brain ticking away furiously to come up with some unreadable lie. "Uh... R-Rin! But Rin doesn't come to the Academy, she's back home in..." she shot a fleeting glance at Momo for inspiration. Momo's lips moved a fraction of an inch and Rukia blurted out "District one! A town not even ten minutes away, we were going to visit my home soon you see..."

Kanisawa held up a hand to stop her and Rukia froze immediately after almost biting her tongue. "Very well. As long as it is not a matter that threatens the peace of this school or my students. Run along now, you have things to do." and with that, she bowed and strode past them into a room at the far end of the corridor.

We held our breath as we watched her retreating back but when she was out of sight we let out long sighs of relief.

"That... was close," Momo said.

"Rukia... why did you do that? If she'd have seen through the lie you would have got into serious trouble!"

Rukia shrugged. "It was only partly a lie, I mean, I have may not have an older sister who you don't get along with but I do have a brother. Though he's not from District One, obviously, and his name isn't Rin," she said slightly awkwardly.

I beamed. At that moment I knew Rukia wasn't like her brother at all. I instantly felt as though I could trust her from now on.

"Thank you..." I said sincerely.

"I'm sure Rin will appreciate his new name" Momo giggled. "Okay enough talking about it, she might have listening devices in the walls..." Rukia said as we walked into the first room. "How else did she just happen to listen in on our conversation out of the hundreds of students here..."

I pointed up at the Gargoyles in the rafters. "She has accomplices."

We laughed and took it in turns to get ourselves measured and weighed for our uniforms and school records.

Mine was a little too long in the arms and baggy around my waist, even with the Hakama trousers as tight as possible. We were also given a grey shoulder bag to carry our swords around in. Momo read out relevant captions from the handbook aloud as she waited for us.

"All students must turn up for lessons wearing their Uniforms. Full uniform is required. Any item of clothing that on show and is not part of Uniform must be removed (jewellery, etc).

Exceptions: Sweatbands (for sports activities), any type of protective gear, hair ties, any activity uniform such as chef's hats, martial art gear, etc. See page three for the full uniform list.

"Wow, they tell us not to wear our own things then give us a pretty broad list of expectable stuff... that doesn't help at all!" Momo complained, waving her wrist in the air. A number of decorative bead bracelets glinted back at me.

"I'm pretty sure that counts as jewellery," I told her. "Doesn't really apply to me though, I don't wear any accessories"

Momo mumbled as she scanned the paragraphs for relevant information. "Ah! 'Students are authorized to carry wooden swords and their... Asauchi's?" she struggled to pronounce the word and then shrugged to show she didn't know what it meant "Around on campus as long as they are sealed inside the supplied grey sheath-bags." she held up the bag she had been given to illustrate the paragraph.

"Weapons are not to be used outside of lessons except for authorized club activities, I.E: Kendo club or Archery club. (see page twenty for rules on recreational clubs), Any students caught in possession of unauthorized weapons or seen using a weapon outside of clubs or classes will be detained. Any student caught using a weapon against another student or member of the faculty will be restrained and taken into the custody of Seireitei enforcement.'"

We stared at each other. "These things must have happened before for them to even make these rules..." I said.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Rukia said emerging from the fitting room with her own uniform on. "See Kimi, it's a good job you didn't bring your sword down with you, Kanisawa would have had a heart attack and had you arrested" she laughed.

I made a panicked 'sssssshhhh' noise and glanced over both shoulders. "You'll summon her!" and Momo burst into giggles again.

Now that we had our uniforms we needed to have our photographs taken for our ID cards.

I had never had a photograph taken before, they just weren't something we used in rural villages. We did everything the old fashion way, we didn't really use technology.

I sat on a stool in front of a large device with a black sheet over the top and grinned when the photographer told me to say "Cheese". I soon regretted it when my ID card was ready. I looked like an idiot and couldn't wait for the second year just to have it retaken.

It was a small plastic card with my information and picture on it in a protective sleeve.

 ** _Murasaki, Kimiko._**

 ** _First year_**

 ** _Emerald Plateau_**

 ** _A*_**

My grin was so forced it was almost frightening, like the voices in my head were telling me not to kill someone. I cringed and turned my attention to the appearances of the A* once again but Rukia reaction to the camera took my mind off it.

I had never had mine taken, but Rukia had never even heard of a photograph and was confused when the man told her to smile, but fascinated with a small snapshot of her face came whizzing out of the bottom of the machine.

"This is amazing" she was muttering to herself and shaking the photo around with force to try and work out its secrets while Momo read another caption from the handbook.

"All students must keep their ID cards on their person at all times, especially while out of uniform in free time. This is for security purposes, as you may be asked to produce ID. If you cannot produce ID you will be assumed as a trespasser and removed from the campus until your identity can be proven."

"At least we know we can't fake our identity if we ever do get into trouble with the disciplinary squad" I laughed rubbing my head guiltily as if that was one of my masterplans had just fallen apart. I couldn't just give them a fake name and get away with it.

Rukia made another hissing noise and glanced around to stop me. "Don't even joke!"

"Who said I was joking?"

The next and last thing on was our timetables which came as a bit of a surprise for all of us and finally answered my nagging question of what A* meant. The title at the top of the sheet was:

 _ **Murasaki, Kimiko - First year - A* (Advanced class)**_

Momo gave a little squeal of excitement. "I'm in the advanced class!" She said pointing it out on her sheet. I replied by pointing it on my paper and Rukia did the same. Momo gave another squeal and started jumping up and down.

"Whoaaa! Ssssshhh! What the hell is the advanced class?" I asked, flinching as her Momo's squeaks of excitement threatened to break the sound barrier.

"The advanced class is a group of the thirty most top scoring students from the exam, that means the three of us are among the thirty best in our whole year! And we get to have classes together!" she explained happily.

"The best out of over two thousand competitors..." Rukia said in disbelief. "Imagine... the three of us getting into the top thirty places"

"And in the same dorm too! What are the chances! I can't believe it! Wait till I tell little Shiro!" Momo said in one overly excited breath.

Instead of feeling proud I felt a pang of guilt, knowing then that Hatsu would have been in that class with me if the circumstances were different. We would have been able to spend our years together, training and getting stronger together. Then I shook myself out of it and reminded myself that I wasn't supposed to be thinking like that. I was number one now, it was time to think of myself, not others.

"It's nice to know I did well in the exams at least. I thought my scores seemed pretty low..." I admitted. Though at least that meant that there was no chance that Renji would be with us. He was terrible through and through. "I'll have to write home to my family tonight, they'll be really proud of me"

Rukia, on the other hand, looked worried.

"Your brother?" Momo asked. "Do you think you'll be separated?"

She nodded. "He wouldn't show me his results even though he said he got in. I think he was ashamed about his score. I didn't want to leave him... We've always been together"

"You never know! He may have made it too, wait until you see him Rukia." Momo said kindly trying to cheer her up. I bit my tongue trying not to comment on how unlikely that was.

She nodded again looking downhearted.

We followed some of the older students to one of the main cafeterias for dinner that afternoon after going back upstairs and changing back into their comfy clothes and continue unpacking.

The cafeteria, or rather the biggest of the five food halls on campus, was like a massive restaurant with a lot of small circular tables scattered around. Unfortunately, it was already full of boys when we got there and we could see any free seats.

"Seems the boys finished before the girls... I hope they left some food..." Rukia observed scanning the crowds. "I wonder what they're serving..."

My belly rumbled angrily. "Smells like lamb... Oooh I can't wait; I didn't eat much this morning out of nerves"

"Me neither" Momo admitted and the three of us stood in line discussing situations that had almost caused the nervous breakdowns in the past, like the exams. I was pleased that Momo and I had so much in common but couldn't help but notice how preoccupied Rukia looked.

She wasn't really paying attention to our conversation but scanning the crowd. When we were near the front of the queue she suddenly called out "Renji!" started bouncing up and down, waving over the crowds.

I saw an unmistakable watermelon coloured spiky ponytail on a tall, tanned boy as he turned in our direction and moved towards us. I was surprised to see how much Rukia's mood changed just knowing that her brother was in the room, but coming to think of it I would probably be a lot happier if my sister popped up too.

I intentionally turned away from them so Renji only saw the back of my head and wouldn't recognize me from behind.

"Rukia! How's it going? Did everything go well?" He asked after navigating through the crowds and hovering next to us just out of the line, already holding his meal.

"Yeah great, I'll tell you everything I'm a minute"

"Gotcha, I'll go find us a table" and he vanished again, not even greeting Momo.

"So that's your brother," Momo said comprehendingly. "I don't see the resemblance"

"Not by blood, it's a long story" Rukia confirmed and Momo gave an understanding smile and moved on to accept her meal from the cooks.

By the time we finally got to the table Renji had chosen over the other side of the room the three of us were practically drooling. Rukia sat down and shovelled her mash in like she had never seen food in her life.

"I see you brought friends," Renji said through a mouth full of peas.

"Yeah these are my roommates, Momo Hinamori" Momo waved happily, then Rukia gestured to me. "And Kimiko Murasaki..."

I didn't look up, already sensing the dirty look I was getting from him. I kept my head down and cut away at my meat calmly.

"I see. Nice to meet you Momo." Renji said kindly, pretending that I hadn't even been mentioned. That made my blood boil. He had the nerve to give me the dead eye and then blatantly pretend I didn't exist. I clenched my knife and fork harder and sawed into my lamb with more force.

 ** _Take it out on the meat, take it out on the_** _**meat,**_ I willed myself. I would have preferred him to bring up the elephant in the room, so we could argue about it and get it off our chests. But nope. He had to be an asshole.

"Nice to meet you too! How did your day go?" Momo asked attempting an icebreaker right away.

"Not bad. The guys in the Iron dorm seem decent enough but it's a bit awkward not knowing anybody"

"So, you're in Iron dorm? That's the one with the red roof that we passed on the way to our dorm! We hit it off right away, didn't we?" she said chattily.

Rukia nodded furiously with her cheeks full of food. "We're in Emerald Plateau, its beautiful and everyone seems to nice" she mumbled with difficulty.

He raised an eyebrow and glanced at me, still quiet, intently examining my broccoli. "That's unexpected," he said in a sly tone, and it was obvious he didn't mean Momo.

"Rukia can be friends with whoever she likes," I snapped back. I felt a knock on my leg under the table and stopped. Renji did the same so I assumed Rukia had kicked him too.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments.

"Oh, by the way, Renji, where's your timetable?" Rukia asked, taking her own out to compare them. All she needed was one glance at the top of the page and she cheered. "Yes, you're in the advanced class with us! Well done!"

I actually choked on my carrots, spitting one out accidentally on to my plate and struggling to swallow the rest. I couldn't hold myself. "Excuse me? How did _YOU_ get into the advanced class? How did you even get into this school!? After that abysmal performance, there's no freakin way you should be here!" I snatched his timetable from Rukia and tsked indignantly throwing it back at him.

"You might wanna go find management, there's been a serious mix-up."

Renji stood up knocking the table slightly and I stood too. "You wanna go? I don't mind round two!" he spat in anger.

"I don't need to go for another round with you, I saw how terrible you were the first time! If you're one of the thirty best in our year I dread to think how bad the other two thousand were"

"Why you little-"

"STOP IT! NOW!" Rukia shouted over us standing and causing more alarm from the people around us. The room seemed to hush suddenly as if they were concentrating on the potential fight that was breaking out "Sit." Rukia hissed through gritted teeth and we did. "Both of you stop this now! Let it go and move on. Kimi you already promise me you would-"

"I said 'Forget about it'. I didn't specifically say I would forgive him" and Rukia looked somewhat betrayed. I sighed, sat down and continued sawing away at my meat, feeling that Renji's malevolent gaze on me still.

"Look, we have to spend six years together in the same class and I won't put up with constant arguments between you two so cut them out before they start"

"Fine. Just keep out of my way and I'll keep out of yours." Renji said leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

"Fine. But if you provoke me I won't hold back. Remember, I know what you're capable of so you don't scare me. Don't even try to intimidate me."

"You-"

"Enough." Rukia said bluntly looking really annoyed now. "Not another word from either of you."

"Fine."

"Fine."

There was more awkward silence then I stood again. "I'm sorry for arguing with you two. I'm gonna go and get some fresh air to calm down. I'll see you back at the dorm if I'm not already asleep." With that I gave an apologetic bow and left, squeezing behind Renji's chair.

"This doesn't mean you've won." I clarified in a low mumble as I passed him but I'm not sure he heard.

I flash stepped away once outside, not wanting to spend another second in his presence. I knew full well that I would be their topic of conversation now and already felt my ears burning, but in the words on granny Chie: Words are wind, not weapons.

If Renji Abarai was so atrociously bad with swords his words could be no worse. Nonetheless, I spent some time sitting on my balcony calming down. My anger was triggered by the slightest of things these days and I knew that being around him would be difficult. I didn't want to cause a scene with people I didn't even know yet and would have to live with. I took a deep breath, lay back with my legs between the bars of the balcony and starred up at the darkening sky thinking about something else.

This time last night I was stared up at the same skies but miles away from here.

It felt so surreal. I was finally here. After so many years of dreaming of these moments, the exams, arriving at the academy on my first day, meeting new friends, moving into my room, being given my uniform, the luck of getting what seemed like one of the best rooms in the whole academy… all of the simple things… they had finally happened.

It was too much to absorb at once. I didn't really feel anything, none of the excitement I had expected or nerves, because it hadn't had the chance to sink in. All I felt was slowly fading anger and I resented Renji more for putting a damper on my first day.

I had never truly expected to hit it off with my roommates straight away either, so Momo and Rukia were the best I could possibly ask for. I just hated that Renji could potentially ruin the good start I had made with Rukia. No doubt their opinions for me had changed after the fiasco at dinner.

I gave a sigh and starred out over the grounds the sky turning a pinky-orange. "I hope things get better... I hope we can just grow to be civil with each other over time... for their sake" I muttered.

I heard quiet talking in the apartment. They'd made it home quickly. I wondered how much had been said about me after I left.

Not wanting to attract their attention I crept back into my room, pulled the thick curtains shut and climbed up to bed in complete darkness. My body was exhausted but my mind was wide awake as usual.

Now that I thought about it, getting into the advanced class had given me a small spurt of hope. The advanced class offered the highest level of training that the academy could provide so I had a higher chance of succeeding and getting a good place in a Squad after graduation.

The satisfying image of me in a black uniform holding a diploma finally carried me off to sleep.


	23. Caring for your new Asauchi

**Chapter 23 – Caring for your new Asauchi**

I woke up around my usual time next morning just as the sun began to rise. It seemed that neither Rukia nor Momo were early birds like me. I put my ear against their doors and heard nothing but low gentle breathing. I thought it might be a little bit cruel to wake them this early so I went for a morning jog to familiarize myself with the area and give them enough time to wake up on their own.

There wasn't another soul in sight as I tiptoed through the building and down in the direction of the lake that my room overlooked along the cobblestone paths.

I was surprised really. Considering students were here to train and get fit I had expected there to be more people out for an early morning work out.

I stood by the lake looking out at the water for a few minutes, watching the golden glow rise over the treetops at the eastern forest border. Not a single cloud in the sky. Just the way I liked it. I gave a sigh of content, having the feeling that today promised to be a good one.

I headed back to the dorm and found that they were both still asleep, so I used the bathroom before Rukia could have the chance to hog it again and then woke them up in standard Yuu fashion. Storm into their room with a bang of the door, rip the curtains open and blind them into consciousness through sunlight exposure.

They both gave unhappy groans and looked at me as if I was completely insane.

"This is nothing. You know what they say: Early bird gets the worm." I said simply, waving around a hot-cross bun from my stash of goodies. "And at this rate, you won't have time for any worms so I suggest you get moving"

Momo didn't argue. She got up and was ready within the hour. Not fast but not slow either. Rukia, on the other hand, was a different story.

As well as being a bathroom hogger she was a "No mom five more minutes" sort of person, hiding under the covers when I let light into her room then closing the curtains and getting back in bed after I left the room.

I gave up on her, warned her not to blame me if she was late and sat in the living area reading one of the magazines that I had found in my desk drawer while cleaning yesterday. Momo was almost done in the bathroom but Rukia had so far taken fifteen minutes to get her left sock on.

While I sat doing a puzzle in the back of the magazine that had been left on the shelf by the apartment's previous occupants, a note was slipped under our door. I scanned it and called out to Momo and Rukia.

"Guys? We've got a note- We have to go to the examination hall before classes for some lecture"

"Okay be done in a sec!" Momo called beginning to rush.

Eventually, nearly two hours after I had woken them Rukia finally crawled out of her room and hobbled over to the mirror to comb her hair, dragging her feet like a zombie.

"Wow, rough night?" I asked sarcastically.

"No. Iv never slept in a bed so comfy before. I swear it was trying to eat me..." she yawned.

"If that's how long it's gonna take you to get ready I better start setting my alarm clock to wake you up earlier"

"If you do I'll kill you." she drawled flatly dragging the comb through her messy hair as slowly as humanly possible.

"Unfortunately this lecture means we can't go to grab breakfast down at the cafeteria and I don't have enough food stashed away for all of us," I told them. That was kind of a lie, I just didn't want to use my precious stash of homemade goodies as emergency breakfast rations and waste them so fast.

"Oh it's fine, I'm sure we can hold out til break time," Momo said optimistically, then grimaced at the drained look on Rukia's face. "I think?"

I shrugged and shepherded the two of them out, making sure we all had our uniform on correctly and grabbing a map off the coffee table before locking up.

We were cutting it close. We ran through the corridors following the map Momo read while I made sure that sleepy Rukia didn't get left behind.

What made it worse and made us feel even later, was there wasn't a single person in the corridors. No seniors, no other first years, not a single teacher or Soul Reaper officer. No one to ask for directions. It was eerily too quiet.

We managed to take three wrong turns, two U-turns, and a loop before finding the lecture hall.

It turned out to be the same room that we took our theory exam in but we came from a different direction so I only recognized the corridor at the last moment. It seemed we made it just in time but compared to last time we were here the room looked empty, only the first few rows of seats towards the bottom were filled.

We descended the steps into the theatre and I spotted bright red hair further to our right. Renji looked over and gave a relieve wave to Rukia and Momo. He had probably been wondering where they were. I completely ignored him.

The last few stragglers were let in then a bell rang to announce the start of lessons and the doors were closed. Down on the stage below stood black-robed figures, but thankfully none of them were captains.

That is until a white-robed figure with a beard wrapped in purple ribbons that were so long it almost touched the floor entered the stage from the right.

There was a huge amount of excited babble and naturally, everyone recognized the Head Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

"Good morning, new students" he addressed us in his ancient but strong voice.

"I would like to congratulate every single one of you on successfully gaining your place to this prestigious academy. You're now part of a proud tradition, a unique school dedicated to building the stealth forces and the thirteen court guard squads of the future. Apply yourself diligently to your studies and uphold the honor of our school. Make this academy proud," and with that, he exited the stage from whence he came.

"That was quick" I whispered to Momo and she nodded. My heart was pounding with excitement. That speech despite being so brief had really brought it home to me. I was here! And in six short years, I would be an officer in one of the squads!

Another man took the stage. He was tall and balding and built like a brick wall on steroids. "Thank you for your words of wisdom, Head Captain Yamamoto Genryusai. I am Master Dao, seated Squad Eleven officers and head of combat training at this academy. I will be your Weapons training teacher and occasionally your Zanjustu teacher.

I'm sure you have already been spoken to by your dorm leaders but here's the rundown one more time:

Now that you have enrolled in this academy you will be living here full time for the next six years unless special circumstances allow you to graduate early, but that only happens if you work exceptionally hard.

Lessons run from 8 am to 3 pm every day except for weekends, though optional club activities are available for you to enrol into during your free time. The curfew for being out of dormitories is 10 pm unless given special written permission. All students must wear uniforms at all times during the day, but out of class hours, you may wear your own clothes as long as you have your ID badges. You may only leave the academy grounds with permission, including weekend trips into the Seireitei for shopping. All students must turn up to classes early and with the appropriate equipment which can be brought in the Seireitei shopping district or at the Academy store. Any student who is late or caught breaking any rules will have a record file opened in their name which may affect their end of year grades and future prospects. Severe misbehaviour will result in expulsion from the academy. Any other rules will have been communicated to you but can also be found in your handbook.

But that's enough introductions for now. The reason you have been called here is to hand out your new swords."

Another ripple of excitement passed over the crowd who had been mostly staring at him with uncaring, tired expressions until now.

He accepted a grey bag from another Soul Reaper who had them on the tables at the back of the stage, unbagged it and held it up. It was a plain Katana style sword with a basic red wrap around the handle. Very unremarkable.

"But it is first important for you to know the significance of these swords. This sword is a dormant, blank Zanpakuto that we call an Asauchi. You will spend time with your Asauchi, take it everywhere with you, meditate with it, communicate with it, treat it well, look after it as if it were a newborn kitten." He said with some sarcasm, getting a laugh from the crowd. My slightly overactive imagination kicked in just then, showing me the mental image of my sword Onyx dressed up in a frilly pink dress with a cat collar and bell around the hilt and little cat ears poking out of the guard. I snorted in laughter and then froze hoping no one had heard me. Momo and Rukia were giggling uncontrollably next to me, that wheezy type of laugh that goes so high pitched only dolphins and bats can hear it. Apparently, they had had the same sort of idea as me.

I tried to compose myself and kicked Momo in the ankle under the seat, causing her to jolt upright, trying to stop the giggles by scrunching her face up.

"As time goes by" Master Dao was saying, completely oblivious to the contagious laughing pandemic spreading throughout our row "You will bond with your sword and it will develop its own personality. That personality is part of your own soul, your Zanpakuto spirit. The spirit will have a mind and consciousness of its own, only you can communicate with it.

We are giving you the swords now because that gives you six years to create a strong bond with it" I heard Rukia lose control of her laughing fit next to Momo and looked over to see her curl up into a ball under her seat, pretending to retrieve something she had dropped. I had to bite my knuckle hard to stop myself from howling out loud.

"Hopefully within that time you will learn the name of your sword and be able to begin utilizing its unique power. If that happens before you graduate, your timetable will be adjusted to include bespoke one to one training sessions to help you learn your own sword style. Knowing your sword before you graduate will help you secure a spot in the squad that suits your abilities best; If that doesn't happen there is time after you graduate and a possibility of transfer requests, but that can be explained at another time.

Now I want each row to come to the front and accept your swords. The same rules apply that swords must only be carried around on campus inside the grey bags you have been provided with." He held one of the swords in its bag high in the air above his head to demonstrate. "This includes practice swords and Kendo swords too. Anyone found breaking that rule will be punished."

He signalled for the first row to come up and officers in black robes stood in lines holding the swords. Another officer at the end handed out bags to the people who hadn't had the foresight to bring theirs with him. Each person took one, bowed and moved on.

I elbowed Rukia in the side and she unravelled herself with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry I just couldn't…"

"Me neither, the way he described it like a pet... I imagined my sword growing legs and chasing after a ball of wool!" Momo wheezed hysterically.

Thankfully it took a little while for our row's turn to descend the stairs and retrieve of swords, which gave us enough time to compose ourselves. Luckily there was too much chatter in the hall for anyone to really take notice of us.

I was surprised by the weight of a real sword when I was finally handed mine. I had only ever touched one that had been up on display back at Hatsu's old house but never really handled one, only my wooden practice sword, Onyx. But that wasn't quite the same as the real thing.

Once all three of us got our swords we headed for the exit and found Renji waiting outside of the room for us.

"How cool are these, huh!?" he said heaving this sword around inside its bag. "Doesn't it make you feel so much more..." he paused to look for the word.

"Dangerous?" I offered without thinking. Rukia snorted.

"Yeah definitely. Put it away before you hurt someone Renji"

"Hey, you wait till we have sword classes. I'll show you how dangerous I am!

"About as dangerous as a baby with a tub of paint, you're going to completely miss your target and destroy the whole building instead."

Rukia cracked and her giggles returned. She didn't even bother to berate me for being mean to him, but why would she? I was only being completely honest.

Renji looked super annoyed and finally shut up to follow behind us in a bad mood.

We arrived in good time as lessons had already technically started over half an hour ago back in the lecture room. The teacher, a tall bald man wearing a long pale green robe over his Soul Reaper uniform was already standing at the front of the room, nodding to everyone in greeting as we entered. We dropped our swords on the floor beneath our chairs out of the way as this didn't seem like the type of class to be using them in.

The classroom was laid out in rows of tiers that rose higher as they reached the back of the room, all looking down on the teacher's desk and the chalkboard at the front of the room. There were enough seats for around thirty people.

"So, you all got into the advanced class and you can all read a map." He said shutting the door when it seemed that everyone was present. "I'm impressed. Usually, there's some dunce who turns up an hour late but not this time. I hope that's a good omen. My name is Gendaro Onabara or just Onabara Sensei to you, and I will be your homeroom teacher for at least this year, if not longer.

I suppose you're all bursting with questions but let me try to give you some answers first, then if I miss something you can ask.

Firstly, I bet you're wondering why you're all in this so-called Advanced Class? Simple. You are the thirty top scoring candidates from the exams. If you scored over one hundred and thirty points in total and we thought you had some unspoken potential, so here you are; Congratulations. Carry on through the next six years with consistent scores like those and you'll come out of this with a top ranking diploma at graduation."

My stomach lurched. One hundred and thirty points? I had scored five more than that. I had just scraped by and that meant that other people in this room must have scored full marks! Hatsu had come close to it was entirely possible.

"Naturally there are only a specific amount of places available for the advanced class and we couldn't accept everyone with high scores, there are certain… prerequisites in place to say who we can and can't accept" Onabara Sensei trailed off and he rubbed his thumb and index finger together.

Some people at the back of the room seemed to huff indignantly at this.

I understood. If someone from a wealthy or well-known family got enough points they would have gotten the place over someone like Renji for example, which now made even more shocked that someone hadn't taken his place or Rukia's in fact. He couldn't have scored higher than me, surely! Either he scored stupidly high or they saw something in him that I couldn't understand.

At least now I knew that there were rich kids whose families had brought their way into the advanced class when there were probably many more students with far more talent stuck in the low classes because of them.

"So those of you who just about made it, consider yourselves lucky. Don't assume that means that the scoring system here is a pushover. You won't get a chance like that again and there is still an opportunity for the class rosters to be changed." he warned. Basically saying that we would lose our spot if we slacked off or couldn't hack it. "From here on out you will work hard. You're here to learn the ins and outs of being a Soul Reaper, you have the opportunity to study under some of the brightest minds and most powerful influences in the profession. That gives you the chance to prove yourself, get noticed and get good grades. Chances like that done come so frequently to the lower classes pupils so don't waste it, and do not to piss around with your new little friends. If you mess around and fail, you're only a disappointment to yourself. And on that cheery note, any questions?" he asked with a bright smile.

Everyone stayed silent. "Very good so you all understand. Anyway, as your homeroom teacher, we will meet here first thing every morning to take attendance and I will give any announcements and last thing in the evening to meditate but I'll explain that later. You can all come to me with any issues or problems and I am the person you will hand over any registration forms to, for extracurricular activities and alike.

Speaking of which, I do have one announcement for you all. Tonight there will be a welcome party for first years, hosted by the academy's clubs in the performance hall. As those of you who have read the handbook will know-" he said this as if expecting no one to have read it. I glanced at Momo who puffed her chest out proudly "It is mandatory for every student to contribute to at least one club over their time here so I suggest you all hustle over there after classes and check them out, even if you don't want to stay and enjoy the festivities. Any application forms must be brought to me during homeroom before the end of the week.

As well as your homeroom teacher I am also your Theory and Field practice teacher, which as you can see on your timetables is up next so we might as well make a start even if there is only half an hour remaining of this session.

He paced around the class, looking into the crowd as if trying to choose a particularly tender piece of meat to cook for dinner. His hand shot out and he pointed to someone up in the back row. "Yeah the back row isn't a safe place," he said with a grin "YOU, tell me the main job of a Soul Reaper"

A small timid voice from the back said: "To help spirits pass over to the Soul Society, sir!"

"Good! And how to do they do so? YOU!" and pointed to someone else near the window.

"Uh…uh.." the boy stuttered not expected to get picked. "by giving the spirit a Soul Burial"

"Finally. And they do so, how? YOU!" he said pointing his fingering right in my face. I recoiled in my chair and stared at his finger, regretting sitting on the front row, then without warning my eyes glazed over.

For the first time in ages, a memory arose from the depths of my mind playing like a broken film reel. A blurry faced man with light blonde, fluffy short hair was bringing the butt of his sword hilt down on my head. It glowed a bright, mesmerizing blue, rippling smoke effects trailing from it. I felt myself go numb in a warm, blinding light and everything went white as her vision came back.

Onabara Sensei was waving in my face and Rukia was shaking me by the arm, the whole class stared at me. "Oh sorry… uh… They used their swords" she said slowly and dumbly.

Onabara rolled his hand in circles prompting for more details. "They put their sword hilt on the spirit's head while it's glowing and send them to the Soul Society" I specified, not knowing the technical terms for the process.

"Better," he said with a shrug walking back over to lean on his desk and I let out the breath I had been holding in. "Well, you all seem to have a basic understanding of the practice. I was only testing you. Always be prepared for a quick-fire quiz!" he said with a mischievous laugh.

"So, let's move on to a Soul Reaper's second duty, or arguably their primary duty, it depends on your point of view on the matter. What happens if a spirit isn't sent to the Soul Society? YOU!" this time he pointed to the middle of the room.

"The spirit will turn into a hollow over time if not seen to quickly" came Renji's voice.

"Exactly. To put it simply, a Soul Reaper's job is to exterminate hollows that plague the World of the Living before they cause chaos and kill innocent people or eat innocent lost souls. The way we do that is by destroying them with their swords, our Zanpakuto's" he said pointing to the one leaning again the back of his chair behind his desk"One good slice to the head is usually enough but sometimes they're tough, slippery little beasts. Remember, the worst and most murderous hollows were once people who sinned in their lives. They have intelligence and a savage blood-lust. Each of them is different and some have unique abilities. So much so that some of the infamous ones evade us for years and find their way on to our Bounty Lists.

In this class, I will cover everything about Soul Reaper field work. Including the technique behind a Soul Burial, the process behind Hollowfication and how to avoid it, protocols and conduct when working in the World of the Living, how to work as a group on the field and we will analyze some of the most infamous hollows.

At the end of the semester, we will be taking part in a field exercise to test what you've learned, but I will explain more about that closer to the date.

Now, I want everyone to take the textbooks I've given you out of your desks, turn to chapter one, read it and write two pages on the basics that we've covered so far. If you're not finished by the end of the lesson, which you should have and if you're not then you should worry for your prospects when you start writing real essays, I want it in tomorrow morning as homework. Knock yourselves out."

I ducked under my desk and found a shelf with a pile of books stacked neatly. I repositioned myself to reach in and met Rukia's eyes as she also ducked.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"What?"

"Earlier? It's like you just shut down!"

"It happens sometimes… I suffer from blackouts. It's nothing to worry about"

"Oooohh now you tell us" Momo groaned ducking to join us.

"I didn't need to tell you until now. Honestly, they're no big deal"

"Kimi, they are! Imagine if you blackout while crossing a road or something!"

I shrugged but didn't tell them that that very situation had happened once before a long time ago, but Hatsu had been quick enough to push me aside. We had to stop training for a week after I landed hard on my left arm and couldn't hold my sword properly.

"They don't happen often. Look I'll explain later in private and you'll understand what I mean, okay?" and surfaced now holding a dusty old textbook and an empty notebook.

The rest of the lesson went surprisingly quickly considering we were in complete silence. I found the textbook enlightening. They were so much more in-depth than anything I had found int he Harumachi library and I now understood even more about my past life and it was easier to put the pieces together. From what I could gather those Soul Reaper who had saved me had been on duty, eradicating hollows and I had been lucky enough for them to notice me before I got eaten. Then the male Soul Reaper had performed a Soul Burial on me and I had ended up in District Two where the Murasaki's found me. I assumed it had been quick and painless too, judging by the calming, warmed white light I had seen in my blackout.

I even got carried away after having written my two-page essay and carried on reading all up until chapter three in the textbook, and then flicked through to look at some of the illustration in the book that showed everything from the different types of uniform Soul Reapers wore, to some of the vilest hollows who were still evading capture to this day.

I learned about the gruesome process that took place when a spirit turned into a hollow and felt my stomach twist at the idea of that happening to me if those Reapers hadn't saved me. I found myself feeling immensely grateful, more so than before, now that I knew what my only other option would have been.

Momo glanced over to see what page I was on and her eyes widened. She pointed at the chapter name as if to tell me that I didn't need to read that far but I shrugged and carried on reading. It just meant I wouldn't have to read it when the time came because I already knew it all. I had done this for fun all those years ago back in the library at home when I had no one else to teach me.

When the bell rang signalling the end of the lesson everyone stood ready to leave, leaving their papers on their desks.

"Hold your horses!" Onabara Sensei called at the top of his voice in an annoyed tone, silencing the babble. "The bell rings at the end of the lesson but it doesn't dismiss you, so in future, you sit until I am ready to dismiss the lesson. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir" class drawled.

"Good. Place your papers with your name on them so I know who they actually belong to on my desk and then you're dismissed. Good session today, keep it up"

We rose calmly, placed our papers on his desk while he glowered down at each of us as we passed, and we ran from the room as soon as we were near the door.


	24. Rubies are Red

Chapter 24 - Rubies are Red

There was a short break between the next lesson but, to Rukia's cranky protests, we used most of this time trying to find the next class so that we would arrive before the bell instead of going to find some breakfast. Unfortunately for me, this meant more interrogation that was made even worse by the presence of Renji.

I tried to block him out of the conversation by leaving him trailing behind the three of us.

"I don't know how to feel about Onabara…"

"Well… he's quite the character" Momo agreed, putting it nicely.

"So?" Rukia prompted "Your explanation?"

I rolled my eyes and tried to explain my problem as quickly and briefly as possible, but I was interrupted by Momo's gasp of surprise. "You weren't born in the Soul Society?! Then how do you have such strong Spiritual Energy!? It's practically unheard of!"

Judging by Renji's expression even he seemed surprised by the revelation.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I never investigated it. It's just always been that way since day one. I figured I couldn't be the only person in that situation."

"It's true. Usually, only people born here have enough Spirit Energy to become Soul Reapers. This must mean you had a big spirit energy when you were living too" Rukia agreed. "You wouldn't have just woken up in the Soul Society with energy like that. I wonder if you ever did weird things as a living human…"

"Weird things? Like what?"

"Well, I read that living humans with small amounts of Spirit Energy can see Soul Reapers and spirits. They called them psychics or something, you know, like ghost whisperers."

I had also read this sort of thing from novels, but I thought it was fiction.

"They don't understand why they have the ability to most of them use it as entertainment" Renji added trying to butt into the conversation. I opted to ignore him, even though I wondered how he would know such information.

"Well, either way, I don't remember anything about my past life except for the what happened right before my Soul Burial-"

"What was it like!?" Momo asked.

"I don't know… Warm and fuzzy… like I was floating in a field of blinding sunlight. That's all I can gather from my flashbacks anyway, I don't remember because I had amnesia ever since I woke up. Every so often some memories come back to me, that's why I have blackouts" I explained.

"That's sooooooo cool!" Momo and Rukia sighed together. Renji rolled his eyes probably jealous of the attention I was getting.

"The blackouts are annoying, not cool! And they can be painful too..."

"But it's so mysterious! There must be some secret from your past life or maybe you were some really famous person who used their spiritual energy like superhero powers!"

"Oh Momo, your imagination is so vivid" Rukia sighed patting her on the head like an overly excited puppy.

"You never know... I bet you're like superman's daughter or something!"

"Do I look like a storybook character to you!?" I demanded. They nodded, and I rolled my eyes again.

Though I couldn't shake the feeling that Momo's last statement gave me. The idea that I had a biological blood family that I had left behind and would never know about or meet. It gave me a terribly lonely feeling. I often wondered if my death had upset them, or if they even knew what had happened to me. Then I reminded myself that I had a loving family in this world and that's all that mattered now.

Although I really did need to write back home and tell everyone how my first day had gone when I had time.

"Anyway, enough about me!" I cut in, stopping Momo's daydream. "Did you guys know that school clubs were mandatory?"

"Yeah, I read it in the welcome handbook," Momo said, naturally knowing all the useful gossips. Rukia and Renji both shook their heads.

"Great, so we have to split our time between clubs, homework, and classes? Talk about heavy workloads." I complained.

"It won't be that bad if you just joined one club. But think about it, clubs will fill that space between classes and bedtime when you have nothing to do with your time except homework"

"I guess, but then I'll want to do club stuff instead of homework and I'll fall behind!"

"You're a procrastinator, then?" Momo said pulling a thinking face. "In that case, we arrange a day or two for set group study sessions to make sure none of us fall behind,"

I saw Rukia glance up at Renji as if to accuse him of falling behind already.

"That works I guess. I wonder what sort of clubs there will be… They mentioned Kendo in the handbook?"

"Kendo is super common, every school has Kendo, but there are loads more too and they're all independently run by students so teachers on your back if you turn up late and stuff. Though some clubs invite Soul Reapers to visit and give speeches or host activity workshops. That's what the handbook says anyway"

"Were here," Rukia said finally coming to the area of the map that our classroom registered to.

As we turned the corner and entered the classroom we gave a loud "Ooooh!" of surprise before throwing our sword bags and books down in a corner.

The room at first had looked like a Kendo hall with shining, polished wood everywhere the eye could see, but with a teacher's desk and blackboard at the front of the room. Tables were stacked up at the sides of the room appears as a previous class had been using the archery range that the room opened out onto.

"Yes! This is sure to be fun!" I cheered excitedly never having tried my hand at archery before. I had always wanted to try it, but I'd been expressly banned due to having the worst aim in history. The carpenter once made me a bow and arrows after arguing that swords were overrated, and Shin had confiscated it from me immediately and sentenced me to a week of housework after shooting a hole through my bedroom door when I had been aiming at a bullseye on a low hanging tree branch a few feet to the left.

Renji groaned. "You haven't seen my sister's aim yet."

Though somehow, I doubted that Rukia was the sibling with the bad aim. I knew better than to voice my opinion however for fear of another argument breaking out. I had been doing quite well at denying Renji's existence so far and that wasn't stopping now.

When the teacher arrived a few minutes later our hopes of having a practical lesson were blasted out of the metaphorical window.

She was a young woman wearing a long purple cloak of the top of her Soul Reaper uniform came striding in and told us straight away to get the tables out and close the patio doors.

"What? We won't be using the archery range?" Renji complained.

"Not today. It seems the previous classes forgot to clean up after themselves. For just one year I would like to be able to teach a first-year class without the disappointment of having no archery but every single year they forget" she complained aloud as she turned her back on us to write on the chalkboard.

My mood sank through the floor with that exact disappointment and I dropped down to the floor cross-legged as Rukia dragged over our table "Just when I thought things were gonna get interesting!" I whined resting my chin on my palm with a moody pout.

I didn't mean to say it so loud and Madame Onigei heard me.

"I promise that things will get interesting, miss…" the teacher trailed off.

"Murasaki, Ma'am"

"Miss Murasaki. Remember, you must learn to crawl before you learn to walk. My name is Madame Onigei. I am ranked as the third seated officer of the Kido corps" she said as she tugged on her purple cloak that was fastened under her chin by gleaming golden clips "and I will be your Kido instructor for this year. Please take your seats and we will get started."

Madame Onigei turned out to be a very good teacher who explained things thoroughly, as almost no one in the class knew the most basic thing about Kido. She explained what it was, how it worked, the sort of things you could do with it and its practical uses in combat. I made sure to take notes without being told to this time:

Kido

Kido or the "Demon Arts" are spells that can be cast by Soul Reapers by using their Spiritual Energy to manifest the spell and an incantation to shape and trigger the spell. At a low level, the full incantation must be spoken aloud, clearly and precisely. Advanced Kido practitioners may use shortened incantations, though the power of spells may vary.

Kido Classifications

Hado – Offensive spells. To be used with intent to attack and harm an enemy.

Bakudo – The Ways of Binding. Battle support spells that aid you or teammates in combat by binding or incapacitating an enemy. These include stunning, paralysis, rooting, freezing, slowing, distraction and immobilizing.

Kaido – Healing and restoration Kido. The user concentrates their own spirit energy and channels it into the person being healed, allowing them to restore their energy and regenerate.

"Seems pretty simple" I whispered over to Rukia who had also been taking notes. She nodded in agreement.

"In theory," 'But harder in practice' is what she left unsaid, but I had that feeling too.

I spotted Renji trying to spy over our shoulders from the desk behind us and moved my notebook to the other side of the table so he couldn't copy my notes. It was his own problem if he hadn't been listening to a word Madame Onigei had been saying. Maybe that'd teach him a lesson when he got something wrong.

"Now then," Madame Onigei said turning away from a long line of text she had just written on the board. "The final form of Kido I mentioned, Kaido, will not be covered in these sessions. You will be taught Kido by professional healing specialist. Here we will focus on offensive, defensive and control spells. The first offensive spell I will be teaching you is a basic one that all officers are encouraged to regularly utilize in combat. It is simple to learn but takes years to perfect as the damage output will increase with practice and level of the casters Spiritual Energy." She explained whipped out a long extendible conducting rod from a deep pocket on the inside of her cloak that would be more at home on a musical conductor and began to tap the blackboard, indicating for us to read along with her.

"Ruler, Mask of blood and flesh, all things in the universe fly, that which names in nature, gathering heat and war, beyond the seas in reverse, take steps to the south" we all read aloud slowly.

"Good. This is the body of the incantation" Madame Onigei said "At the end of the incantation you must state the classification of the Kido, its number, and its full name. In this case - Hado 31: Shakkaho Red Flame Cannon"

We read it out slowly another two more times and I spotted people around me rushing to get it written down. I had already done so, copying it while Madame Onigei was writing it out before she explained it.

"Good. It seems you all have it committed to memory, so you won't be needing this-" and she savagely scraped the chalkboard clean with the chunky eraser block.

I heard a horrified gasp around the room and from Renji behind me and almost snorted a laugh. Like hell was I gonna be showing him my notes, and if Rukia had any sense she wouldn't either.

"For the rest of the lesson, I want you to read chapters one to three in the textbook to get a better understanding of Kido practice. If you finish with that, I want to you spend your time memorizing the incantation. You may go down to the archery yard to practice if you wish. But no accidents please, I don't think the medical ward would appreciate having visitors on the first day of school.

For tomorrows lesson each of you will take turns to cast the spell. You will be graded on the clarity and accuracy of your incantation, the strength of the spell you produce, your accuracy and AIM." She put emphasis on this last word as if to tell us that missing our intended target was unacceptable.

"A freaking test on our second day of school? What is the world coming to! And why can't we learn how to summon a kitten or something? Why must it be something dangerous!?" Rukia complained shaking her head as she settled down to read the textbook after retrieving one for each of us from Madame Onigei's desk.

"Summoning kittens won't help us win fights, will it?" I said looking down at my dog-eared, brown, mouldy looking old book and wondered how many owners it'd had before me.

Oh, how I missed the smell of new paper and leather bindings of the books in the library back home. Maybe if I had free time to go shopping I would go and treat myself to a new set for each of my classes so I didn't have to wonder what all these stains on the pages were.

"Ew... This is gross." I heard Momo say from behind as she and Renji opened theirs. "Remind me to invest in a pair of gloves!"

After reading the first chapter I felt pretty confident that I could pull a spell off, based on the theory that is. All I had to do was concentrate, find the centre of my Spirit Energy like I had done a million times before and push it outwards at the moment I finished speaking the incantation. I could do that; The only problem was that I had never managed to focus on my energy without going into a meditative trance. I wasn't sure I would be able to speak and stay conscious while tapping into my energy simultaneously. Perhaps with practice, but one night was hardly enough time to undo something I had been doing wrong for years.

I tried to ignore the nagging doubt for now until I had the chance to practice after school and instead took it upon myself to check exactly what spell I was learning in the glossary at the back of the book.

According to the textbook, it was an offensive spell that would generate a high-power ball or beam of fiery energy, depending on the caster's level of Spirit Energy, that was shot from the caster's hands and could cause burns. I could see what Rukia meant about this first spell being a little bit intense. It sounded too dangerous to give to new students like who had no idea what they were doing.

We spent the last of the lesson watching some of the other kids down in the crowded yard trying to produce more than spluttering sparks.

When the bell rang again I had the spell pretty much memorized but I carried on chanting it in my head and made a mental note to write it on my hand in the morning in case I forgot in the heat of the moment.

"Do you think we're actually going to do something fun soon?" Rukia asked as we headed towards the nearest cafeteria to grab a late breakfast before next period.

"Rukia, please! You don't want me to fail, do you?" Renji begged completely ignoring the question and she rolled her eyes.

"What were you even doing to miss that lesson?! There was nothing to be distracted by!"

"I couldn't help it, it was so boring that I zoned out. Please just let me read your notes! It'll make it up to you!"

"Fine, but never again! If you fail any other lesson it's your own fault and I refuse to rescue you." Rukia said harshly but truthfully, shoving her notebook into his chest and storming into the lunch line. Momo just grimaced at him and followed. I knew Rukia would give in to him again soon enough but I didn't say anything.

I refused to acknowledge him in any such way and wandered off to find seats, and strangely enough, he followed me without a word either. The two of us sat in silence for a few minutes before he cleared his throat.

"So… What do you think so far?"

"What do I think of what? Wait. Wrong question. Why are you even trying to make small talk with me?"

"I'm just trying to be ni-"

"I suppose Rukia put you up to it. You never usually listen to anything she says so why should you start now?" I said harshly, stopping him before he could justify himself. "Well newsflash, I don't want to be your friend, so just stop."

"Wow. Rude. Suit yourself, stubborn midget. I was only trying to be nice"

My temper flared but instead of retaliating I flipped him off.

"Good for you, I don't care." I snapped harshly and then Rukia and Momo came into sight carrying a tray overloaded with enough pastries to feed half of our class and I grinned as if nothing had happened. The edible distraction was welcome. I jumped up to help by taking a few treats off the top for myself to lighten their load.

"Thanks!" I mumbled through a face full of golden pastry with sweet strawberry sauce in the centre. Renji gave me a disgusted look, though I wasn't sure if it was aimed at my stubbornness or my lack of table manners. Probably the not the latter seeing as he had probably never heard of them.

Thankfully the girls didn't seem to pick up on the tension between us.

"Well folks, if the next lesson isn't a practical nothing will be. Its marked as 'Weapons Training' and its marked as being a double period" Momo said turning her timetable for us to look at while eating a cherry tart with her other hand.

Renji's face lit up like a child on Christmas day.

"Oh dear gods, don't give Renji access to weapons this soon, please!" I groaned before I could stop myself, only earning another glare from him and laughs from Momo and Rukia. I was glad they kept mistaking my serious complaints as jokes. I wasn't just overreacting though, I was still recovering from the traumatic experience of Renji using a Kendo sword and nearly decapitating most of the spectators. I really didn't want to witness it again any time soon.

"Didn't the guy who handed out our swords this morning say he was the Master of Weapons Training?" Rukia asked with an almost full mouth.

Rukia nodded. "But no doubt we'll only be reading about weapons but not actually using them."

"Well if that's the case atleast we can look forward to the party together. Only a few hours left" Momo said optimistically.

Rukia turned out to be only half correct.

Weapons Training took place in a building that was slightly offset from the rest of the campus among the woodland that surrounded the perimeter. The large golden-roofed building with numerous training ground around it turned out to be a real, fully equipped Dojo with smaller classrooms branching off from the entrance hall, which also doubled as a sort of weapon museum or trophy room. The walls were covered with hundreds of weapons, mounted up high behind glass panels and the edge of the room was lined with more standing glass display cases behind red ribbons to stop people from touching the deadly, gleaming blades.

I could have happily spent hours browsing that room, looking at the masterful crafting and intricate decoration of the Katana's and some of the weapons that I didn't recognize at all.

Beyond that was the dojo room. At the end of the room was a blackboard mounted on the wall but no tables. Rukia dragged Renji and me away from the display cases and over to stand with some other students near the blackboard.

"This looks promising!" I said brightly.

"Don't get your hopes up" Rukia yawned.

"Stop jumping to conclusions, I don't see any textbooks here, do you?" Momo said encouragingly. She was right. There was no sign of a traditional classroom here.

Soon enough our teacher, the huge Master Dao, arrived through a side door. The first thing he did was swear to us that we would be using weapons in this lesson but not immediately as if he knew that they wanted nothing more than to get their hands on sharp, dangerous objects.

"First let's move to a classroom and then I will explain the aim of this lesson," he said, ushering us back towards the entrance hall and into another room beside the dojo.

We took our seats, this time Momo sat with me and Rukia and Renji sat in front of us.

"Predictable..." Renji sighed opening the book that already sat in front of him to a random page.

"He said we get to fight soon, just be patient!" Rukia snapped at him.

"Allow me to first explain the aim of this lesson. It is very important." Master Dao said, taking his place in front of his desk. "Now that you have your Asauchi's you will need to form a bond with the sword in order for it to evolve into your own Zanpakuto. These Zanpakuto's will absorb your energy and eventually contain part of your own soul. That awakened sword is yours, and yours alone. It is literally part of you and no one else can wield its power. It cannot break fully but it can regenerate over time if it is destroyed in any way.

The purpose of this class, however, is to give you the opportunity to learn about and practice with countless different types of weapons from all over the world. This is because it will take at least six years, if not longer, for you to achieve the Shikai stage of your Zanpakuto. Shikai is the first release of your Zanpakuto and most swords change form upon release which can drastically change fighting styles. In this class, you may learn how to use the type of weapon that your Zanpakuto will one day evolve into. Any prior experience is a head start.

Your Zanpakuto could, of course, evolve into something entirely unique or a combination of more than one type of weapon. In which case, practice with other weapons may have been useless. And, of course, your Zanpakuto could be entirely Kido based and not physical in any way, shape or form. There would be nothing stopping you taking a liking to a particular weapon and using it as your secondary weapon or taking it up as a hobby like you would with Kendo for example.

There are countless possibilities, but we feel that this is an excellent use of your time until you activate your Shikai. I will explain more about Shikai's in the future. Does everyone understand that?"

There was a mumbling of "Yes, Master Dao".

"Very good. So, we will begin each lesson by looking at a particular type of weapon and their common branches. We will talk about them, you will read about them in the textbooks placed on your desks, and then you will have time to practice with them."

I heard a few hisses of "YES!" from around the room as people fist pumped the air in excitement and high fived their friends.

Master Dao laughed. "Glad to see such enthusiasm. Let's get started.

Each of your weapons training sessions will be double so you will always have one hour of theory and one hour of practice, though sometimes we will shake it up and give you more time with the weapons.

This week we will cover the most common type and favourite type of weapon, the Katana, which is the sword that your Asauchi's are modelled on. So, for this practical you will be getting acquainted with your Asauchi's for the first time."

Master Dao paused to reach down behind his desk and presented us with a beautiful sword. A long gleaming sheath, with a pattern like white marble, red ribbons tied around the neck of the sheath and capped with golden at the pointed tip, a red braid around the hilt in typical katana style, a golden square shaped guard with golden tassels hanging from it. It looked super fancy, way better looking than our shabby swords.

"Wow! I'm jealous!" I whispered loudly to Rukia and she nodded vigorously in agreement, mesmerized as Master Dao unsheathed it with a flourish, making an amazing scraping metal sound. The blade glinted dangerously in the light.

"This is one from my own Zanpakuto. Its name is Ginkai. The sooner you learn that there's power in a name the better. Once you have a Zanpakuto you will learn its name and until you do it will be all but useless to you. But besides that, naming your weapons, even the ones that arent Zanpakuto's, helps you to become more familiar with it, understand and learn it better."

I totally understood his point. I had used Onyx for years, my Sister had named it, I had spent so much time with it and had some many memories with it and giving it a name made it feel like an old friend. I currently felt so much more attached to Onyx than his plain and boring sword in my bag and I kind of wish I could use Onyx as my Zanpakuto but that was unfortunately impossible.

"Can anyone tell me anything about Katana's?" he asked looking around the room. I looked too and saw that no one seemed too comfortable with offering to answer the question. Master Dao didn't seem as insistent as Onabara so I willingly raised my hand.

"Yes, young lady-"

"Murasaki. They are the national historical weapon of Japan, traditionally used by Samurai in ancient times" I offered and he nodded.

"Very good, Miss Murasaki. They were used by Samurai in the fourteenth century. Can anyone else tell me how to recognize a Katana?"

A young man with white blonde hair in the front row raised his hand. "They are easily recognizable by their distinctive hilt, which is usually a type of animal skin, or more commonly in modern times a fancily coloured fabric for aesthetic purposes, for wrapping around the hilt to provide more grip. The blade also has a slight but distinctive curve." He said as if regurgitating a textbook.

"Very good, Mister?"

"Izuru, sir, Kira Izuru"

"Very good answer Izuru. Animal skin, such as a shark or ray skin can be used for stronger grip if desired, but otherwise, the wrap around the hilt can be made of silk if the blacksmith prefers to his weapons to look more appealing with brighter colours.

Katana's are fairly simple to use. They have long, curved blades that are usually around twenty-four to twenty-eight inches long and are usually held two-handed." He demonstrated the correct way to hold a Katana and did a few sweeping slashes. "Holding it with two hands allows for excellent control from the wrist. Many advanced users do develop their own styles that shy away from this technique, but we recommend that beginners learn this technique to begin with."

This made me think of my water dancer style that I had developed many years ago, which I found was similar to the style of fencing; One handed with lots of fancy flourishes and legwork. Did that mean that I was considered advanced?

"A Kanata's control, balance and overall good-looking design generally make them a favorite with sword users, especially beginners" Master Dao was saying, balancing the sword between both hands as if weighing it.

Me and a few others around the room mimicked him. I wasn't used to my sword feeling so heavy, though Katana's were generally light and in this case, the material made a huge difference. Onyx was a hollow, lightweight almost black colored wood but this thing was an ugly lusterless grey with a dull red hilt, a square guard, and a plain red scabbard. Nothing special, unlike Ginkai.

I lay the new sword next to Onyx on the table to compare them. I felt weird calling it "The New Sword" but what else was I supposed to call it? I didn't see much point giving it a name if it would be getting another one when it awakened in a few years, but if I didn't I couldn't imagine myself getting attached to it at all. Then it came to me.

"Ruby..." I mumbled all of a sudden while Master Dao continued to demonstrate.

"Huh?" Momo asked confused.

"I'm calling mine Ruby. We named Onyx after the black stone for its black wood so I'll call this one Ruby for the red stone and its red hilt and sheath."

"That makes sense. Rubies are stronger than Onyx's too just like how the Asauchi's are stronger than Kendo swords."

"Hey, you have to name it Emerald! Forget about the color, if Kanisawa hears you named your sword after another girl's dorm she'll have you in detention for a year!" Rukia turned and whispered.

"Let her, as if don't care" I shrugged, not at all surprised if that was the sort of thing Kanisawa punished people for.

"On your head" she warned, turning back to face the front.

"I can't believe you're naming it already. Its name is gonna change soon anyway so whats the point" Renji said eavesdropping. That how I had felt too, but if I didn't make an effort I would never get attached to it.

"Hey, maybe you should call your sword Rin, Renji" I suggested. Rukia's and Momo's mouths fell open in an 'Oh no you didn't!'

Apparently, she had forgotten about our encounter with Kanisawa yesterday until now. Renji looked between us in confusion, oblivious to our inside joke at his expense.

We settled down to read the textbook chapter on Katana's for the next half hour and I found myself feeling better about my Asauchi already. It was almost like I had met another new classmate.

When our reading time was up, Master Dao allowed us to follow him outside to one of the sandy training yards among to woodland and stand in a line in front of some wooden posts that had been dressed in sacks and stuffed with straw until they looked like scarecrows.

"Alright. Now I'm assuming most of you here have some form of sword training else you wouldn't be in this advanced class"

I shot a look at Renji who not surprisingly looked quite pleased with himself, and I once again questioned how the hell he did it.

"So I'm expecting there to be no accidents here. I want you all to take turns at the dummies for a few minutes each. Get a feel for your new sword and try to work in some of the techniques you read about. Off you go"

We had a lot of fun using our swords for the first time. I even accidentally helped Renji out by telling him how to alter his grip. I wasn't trying to be helpful, it was just bothering me so much that I had to say something, but that momentary lapse of stubbornness didn't go unnoticed by Rukia and Momo.

"See! You can be nice to each other!" they cheered, high fiving as if scoring a victory.

"My mistake. I won't let it happen again" I smiled sweetly, turning to slash away at my straw scarecrow with vigour.

"Hey, I have a name for my sword!" Momo suddenly said, changing the conversation before Renji could comment. She was pointing over to a patch of flowers over towards the entrance to the building. "Its name can be Rose!"

"That's pretty, it suits you" I agreed still swinging at my scarecrow-like it had offended me and my ancestors.

"Well if you're going for the red theme and R words I'll have to go with... Robin?" Rukia said taking her turn at the dummy next to mine as Renji switched out.

"So we have Ruby, Rose, Robin, and Rin!" Momo smiled happily.

"Nice to know I get to choose the name of mine" Renji grunted with a sour face from the sidelines.

"You wouldn't understand even if we explained it. Trust me, it was meant to be" Rukia assured him with a wink to me and Momo.

The end came far too soon and none of us wanted to leave. Master Dao explained that we wouldn't spend very long on each type of weapon as it would take us longer than six years to try out all of them, but we were allowed to revisit each at our leisure in our spare time or if we joined the Weapons Training club.

We sincerely thanked him for the fun lesson before leaving for lunchtime.

* * *

A/N: Ugh when the writing software you use has your native English dictionary but your spellcheck is American. I'm pretty sure it has switched between the two versions a lot here :( My brain hurts lol


	25. A Waking Nightmare

Chapter 25 - A Waking Nightmare

Weapons training had put us all in a good, optimistic mood and our lunch went by peacefully. We sat on the hill below my bedroom balcony overlooking the lake with a box of rice balls to share between the four of us. We chatted about anything and everything and somehow I managed to go a full hour without throwing or receiving a single insult.

The late afternoon sun was hot, and I would have given anything to run down that hill and give into the lake to cool off, but I stopped myself in case there was some obscure rule forbidding that sort of behaviour.

Our good moods didn't last long, however. The less said about the next lesson, the better. It was history class where an astoundingly slow and boring old woman droned on and on and on about the history of the Soul Society, notable Soul Reapers and their achievements and more irrelevant stuff that really didn't matter to us or affect our studies in any way. I had spent most of my life looking back at the past but nowadays I was all about looking forward to the future. I really didn't have to concentration for this crap.

I had to fight not to fall asleep several times. By the time the bell rang for last period, I felt like my soul was floating out of my body.

"Shoot me before our next history class so I don't have to go" Renji grumbled as we wandered towards our homeroom for the last hour of classes.

"Gladly. Pass the gun."

He mimed loading a gun and passing it to me without a complaint.

"How many bullets you got?" Rukia asked with a yawn.

Momo seemed to be the only one who wasn't close to death by boredom. "It wasn't that bad! Don't you find the history of this place inspiring?" she asked

"About as inspiring as having a bowl of sloppy grey porridge with no toppings for breakfast."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with porridge!" Rukia complained looking offended.

"There is everything wrong with porridge and everything wrong with that stupid class. I don't care what people did like five thousand years ago, I care about what we are gonna do in the future, and every hour we spend in that classroom is an hour of valuable training time wasted."

"But just imagine if we are written about in textbooks for our great achievements in the future! Wouldn't that be awesome?" Momo fantasized.

"Baby steps, Momo. When you guys can get out of bed on time we'll start looking for publishers" I said sarcastically getting a laugh out of Renji for the first time.

Our homeroom had been transformed for our last lesson of the day which was marked as "Spiritual Cultivation" on the timetable and took place back in our homeroom.

There were large puffy pillows sitting on top of our tables and the blinds were drawn so the room was dark besides the sharp rays of evening sunset bursting through the gaps. As we entered and climbed up into the pillows Onabara circled around the room lighting candles that were scattered high and low.

"Make yourselves comfortable folks. Those pillows are for your backsides, not your heads" he said whenever a group entered the room as if he understood the pain of sitting through a history class and how tired it would inevitably make everyone unless your name was Momo.

"I can see those confused faces," he said shutting the door behind the last person. "This is your Spiritual Cultivation class, or to put it in layman's terms, Meditation hour. This class is mandatory for all students except sixth years. It's the perfect time to relax, unwind, forget the stresses of the day and most importantly, work on controlling your Spiritual Pressure and communicating with your Asauchi's."

He moved some stuff from his cluttered desk to the floor without much care and took a seat on his own pillow. "I want you all to close your eyes, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, get a rhythm going. You need to feel like your consciousness is drifting away. Once you're there you need to look for your Spirit Energy. It will be deep down so look long and hard. When you find it, I want you to summon it into a physical manifestation"

He demonstrated by instantly, effortlessly making a ball of golden light in his palm. "Like so."

I quickly realized that this is exactly what I had taught myself when I was new to this world all those years ago. I was finally seeing other people doing it and I felt comforted by the knowledge that I had been doing something correctly, and that I was already advanced in this training. Without bothering to meditate I summoned a ball of bright white energy between my hands and continued looking around. Onabara looked impressed but didn't say anything so not to break anyone's concentration.

As I looked around I saw people making the same mistake I had, trying too hard and straining their physical bodies instead of their minds. I was right to think that this was an entirely mental exercise. Onabara even said so to the people that were doing it wrong and before long there were some balls of coloured energy and some measly flickers of light at people's fingertips.

"Alright. That's enough for now. I want you all to practice that before bed every night. I promise it will help those of you who have trouble sleeping, it is very relaxing; But for now, just meditate with your swords on your laps. If you can manage it, try to feed some of your energy from your hands into the blade"

I got the impression that this suggestion was more aimed at me thanks to having no difficulty with the class whatsoever until now.

The candles were now the only light in the class as the sky turned a dark dusky blue. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful, and I easily drifted away.

I knew exactly where to find my energy and saw myself in my mind's eye as always, but this was slightly different. I was wearing my red and white uniform as in the real world, standing in the usual dense void though this time I had my new sword Ruby in my hand when usually I would have been empty handed even if I was holding Onyx.

I ran through the blackness until I found the crystal as I had done countless times before like my body and mind were attracted to it by some invisible force. I was certain this tiny glowing object was the source of my energy. That was the only thing it could be.

Once I found it, instead of trying to grab it I held Ruby out to it as if presenting the sword as an offering. Tendrils of white fog began to siphon away from the crystal and feed into the dull blade like teethers of energy and the whole sword began to glow with my freezing energy.

I felt a pressure on my arm and a voice emanated in the emptiness around me. I was too concentrated to pay it any attention at first, then it got louder with every call and I snapped back to consciousness.

When I opened my eyes, I found Momo and Rukia shaking me hard, calling my name. I must have been deep down in my mind to not hear or feel them until now. The whole of my class was staring at me, then it dawned on me that their faces were illuminated by a cool white ambient light instead of the warm candlelight. I looked down and saw the tendrils of energy feeding from my hands to Ruby, who was now illuminated by a sphere of white light that was twice its size. The candles had been extinguished and a distinct familiar chill hung in the air, causing everyone's breath to form as mist.

I pulled my hands away in surprise and Ruby clattered to the floor.

Embarrassed and ashamed at disrupting the class I apologized to my classmates and Onabara.

"That's quite alright." He said tolerably. "You may sit and watch until the bell, but please stay behind after class so we can chat, Miss..."

"Murasaki, Sir." I sighed, resigning to the horrible thought of getting detention on my first day.

The bell rang, and I stayed in place as the rest of the class filed out around me. The girls shot me worried looks and I grimaced back at them.

Onabara shut the door on their concerned faces and turned to relight the candles on his desk. It seems my energy had blown them all out much like that whirlwind I caused back in the exam. Maybe Hatsu and the others were right about my energy being strong. I didn't see anyone else doing stuff like that.

"That's quite an impressive Spirit Energy you have there," he said as he struck a match without looking at me. I didn't say anything. I didn't know if that was a compliment or not.

"You know, Murasaki, each year I am given a list of each of my new charges" he waved around a piece of paper that he pulled out of a draw in the desk. "On this list is each of your exam scores followed by a short report about your performance. This is list allows me to monitor each student's performance and improvement based on what the examiners listed as your strengths and weaknesses. The people who put you in this advanced class made a specific note about the sheer raw power of your Spirit Energy, but the reason you didn't get full marks in that part of the exam was due to your lack of control"

I hung my head in shame. "I know sir. My energy nearly blew everyone away in the exam and I didn't even notice until I saw the state of the room. I was so deeply focused on it that I wasn't aware of the real world around me…"

"That is exactly what happened today. You're not in trouble Murasaki. In fact, I'm happy that I can give you some advice. That is what this institution is for, to direct, teach and advise you. Now, as a long-term personal project, I want you to practice keeping your energy contained. At the moment you're like a leaky tap. You're just spewing water out all over the floor and getting everyone in the room soaked" He said with a smile that made me laugh. "It's something that can be easily improved upon if you know how. I suggest you make a trip to the library during tomorrows lesson. I will give you a hall pass and can go do some research on the matter. I would rather you practice in your own time-"

"So I don't disturb the rest of the class and give them frostbite?" I said bitterly to myself. "Trust me, Sir, I really never want to do that again. I hate being the centre of attention..."

He nodded. "It's not that anyone else in the class was better at control than you Murasaki, believe me, it's quite the opposite. Most of them have probably never tapped into their energy before but I can tell that you have tried. It's just that you have had no instruction until now and you've gained bad self-taught habits, am I right?"

I nodded. "I taught myself how to use my energy for things... Like running and to protect me"

"Everyone else has the advantage of a clean slate whereas we need to retrain those habits out of you. Quite frankly it's astonishing the amount of power you have and that you can already tap into it without help. Keeping it under control is the only issue here. As you have seen it can affect the people around you immensely. So, I want to see some improvement in your control by the end of the month. Only then will I let you re-join the class. Am I understood?"

"Yes Sir," I said with a bow.

"Good. Come to the next session and I will have a pass ready for you. You know where I am if you want to ask for advice."

"Yes Sir, thank you," I said sincerely grateful for his understanding.

"Alright Murasaki, you're dismissed. Go and get some food and enjoy the party tonight"

"Have a good evening sir" and I left the room, sliding the door closed behind me.

Momo, Rukia, and Renji were waiting for me opposite the class, looking out of a window where students were walking around in their finest party outfits.

Naturally, they bombarded me with questions.

"How many hours?" Renji asked, probably referring to the detention he was assuming I'd been given.

"Shut up Renji!" Rukia said whacking him in the arm then turning to me. "What did he say?"

"Basically, he's letting me skip class so I can practice in private and not disturb everyone else, but he's only given me a one-month deadline to get my Spirit Energy under control."

"Sounds fair to me, better than detention on your first day" Rukia laughed in relief. "I can just imagine Kanisawa's reaction"

I shivered at the thought. "Yeah I gotta admit that worry did cross my mind"

"Well, I knew Kimi would be okay!" Momo said confidently. "We were waiting to hear shouting, but we couldn't even hear your conversation, so I knew you weren't in trouble"

"I would be more scared by Onabara whispers than his shouts," Renji said miming a shiver as we headed towards the closest cafeteria without bothering to head back home to change.

I smiled fondly. "He doesn't look so scary to me right now. He's actually really nice, but I wouldn't recommend getting into trouble to test out the extent of his niceness"

"Well, we got through our first day alive. How about me go and check out this party and celebrate?" Rukia asked.

"Hell yes, let's do this!" Renji cheered, the most enthusiastic id seen him since weapons training.

I filled my plate to the brim at the all you can eat chicken buffet and rushed through it, eager to get back to the dorm, get changed and go to the festivities, which gave Renji a reason to pick a fight as usual.

"What are you, a cow? You only have one stomach you know"

"Shut it pineapple face! My stomach has an infinite capacity when it comes to chicken."

"You can't insult my hair when you look like a hedgehog!"

"Yes," I said patiently as if addressing a particularly slow toddler. "But I can't beat you up efficiently if my hair is flying in my mouth, can I? There's no way to make it stop spiking when its tied up, you of all people should know the struggle of having untameable hair!"

He opened his mount to argue back but Momo shut him up.

"Oh, give it rest lovebirds!"

I dropped my chicken leg on my plate with a clang. "Ew! That's gross why would you even say that?!" I complained. Sickened by the idea enough to push my plate away.

"You know what they say, the first sign of love is bullying. You two have got it baaaaad for each other" Momo said conversationally as if she was talking about the weather. Rukia almost choked on breadcrumbs as she tried to hold in a laugh at the looks of horror on mine and Renji's red faces.

I didn't really speak for most of the meal after that, preferring to silently stuff my face instead of showing my embarrassment. Maybe I was going a little overboard on my hatred of Renji. Or maybe he deserved it for acting like a complete moron and they were just looking for a way to make me stop hating him. A clever attempt, but I wasn't gonna fall for it.

We left the cafeteria as the moon began to rise.

We arranged to meet Renji at the top of the road into the student village in an hour so we would have enough time to freshen up and get changed into something more party appropriate.

I slipped on a pair of black shorts, a pair of flat biker style buckled and studded boots and a baggy grey long sleeve jumper that hung off one shoulder, but I released my hair from its ponytail and let it hang straight and loose around my lower back for a change, just to take away the slight evening chill from my neck and shoulders. I mainly tied my hair up so it didn't get in the way of training but now I actually wanted to make a slight effort to look presentable.

Momo picked out a cute pink halter neck and a frilly brown skirt with some sandals and Rukia changed into one of Momo's pale pink summer dresses.

The dress suited Rukia. It made her look oddly sweet and innocent and I knew of a great shop back home that might sell clothes Rukia would like so I promised to take her there as soon as we had a free weekend.

We found Renji and were greeted with a:

"Hey, you're not spikey anymore. Good job"

"You are. I see you didn't make much of an effort. You wanna try harder to next time" I quipped with a sweet smile as I threw my long hair over my shoulder with an exaggerated swish. That shut him up and we followed Momo's map towards the southern part of the campus.

The building wasn't even in view when we heard the first hint at thumping party music. Not my style at all but I felt like celebrating. I had managed to get through my first day relatively unscathed, so why not let my hair down a bit.

The huge wooden building loomed around the corner, its windows and open entrance blaring with multi-coloured lights, highlighting a banner above the door saying, "Welcome Freshers!" with lots of balloons attached to it.

We wandered into the hall where we were greeted by seniors who forced glasses of red coloured liquid that smelt distinctly alcoholic into our hands. Renji necked his glass and wiped his mouth appreciatively.

"Yep, I'll have another of those!" I heard him shout over the music.

I sipped at mine and slowly the sharp taste grew on me. I wasn't much of a drinker really. At parties, my sister and I had always been happier with fruit juice than wine so that we could play pranks on the drunk people around us and never get caught for it.

We gravitated towards was the table at the base of the tall stage, piled high with food and drinks, following Renji who seemed to be on a mission for more alcohol. The music was so loud we felt the vibrations in our bones and we had to communicate with vague hand signals. We maneuverer around the crowds of partygoer's dancing beneath the disco ball in the middle of the room and each grabbed a cup of something sweet and sugary before huddling up to decide what to do next.

Each club had set up a booth underneath a dim spotlight with a backboard and sideboards enclosing a table, each manned by a couple of representatives. Some of the clubs had photographs on the boards and table as well as information about the club, other clubs had promotional posters, some clubs had brought their wares to show prospective new members, like the Flower Arrangement Club with their beautifully assembled bouquets around their table, the Breakfast Club who had samples of home cooked breakfasts and a range of coffees for people to try, and the Archery Club with their different types of bows up on display with terrifying looking modified arrows pinned to the wall boards.

Every type of sport or recreational activity seemed to be available here. We went around the first few booths together, stopping to looking at the displays of a few of the booths, like Arts & Crafts and Swimming club, but choosing to walk past clubs they weren't interested in, like Cheerleading club, whose members were performing a range of poses for a crowd of mostly male admirers.

We really wanted to stop by the Cooking Club who were doing a live demonstration for a crowd and then handing out samples, but we were all too stuffed from dinner and starting to regret that chicken buffet binge.

I heard a squeal of excitement loud enough to carry over the music while I was turned away to look at the Zanjutsu club with Renji by my side, and suddenly Momo was dragging me and Rukia along by the hand with Renji trailing behind.

We came to a halt in front of what I first mistook as a memorial shrine, until I saw the subject of the hundreds of photographs staring down at me from every inch of board.

The header on the leaflet that Momo was now waving around was "Captain Sosuke Aizen Appreciation Society"

A shiver ran up my spine and I turned away. I jabbed Renji in the side hard and indicated over to the food table with my cup and mimed drinking from it. He gave me an inaudible, assumedly very rude complaint about the jab but agreed to sneak away with me.

The two of us sat in a surprisingly comfortable, companionable silence, sipping at our drinks and occasionally reaching over to steal cakes from the table while tapping our feet to the music.

I kept glancing through the crowd over to where Momo was now holding Rukia hostage. Rukia kept tiptoeing to her full height to look for us over the crowd while Momo was engrossed in a conversation with the Aizen Society members. Part of me felt sorry for abandoning poor Rukia and I wanted to rescue her but the other part of me didn't want to see Aizen's face again.

This time I got a jab in the ribs and jolted to attention. Renji was pointing around to the tables and I assumed he wanted to go look around. I nodded and joined him with a lemon cupcake in hand. We might be waiting for Momo and Rukia for hours at this rate, so I figured we might as well do our rounds without them.

Renji picked up a leaflet for anything that was remotely violent looking. I was only really interested in anything physical too, but mainly in the exercise sense. I picked up leaflets for the Gym & Fitness club, Morning jogging club, the Gymnastics team, Zanjustu, Kendo, Weapons training, the Track & Field team and the Music club.

I had the strong urge to write back home and ask my family to send over my instruments when I came to the music booth and saw a selection of their instruments on display as well as photos of past music club productions and school events they had played at. A large post on the wall stated that all the music being played at this event had been written and recorded by Music Club members, which meant they had proper recording studios and equipment.

I signed up for auditions on the spot without thinking twice.

I had learned how to play all those string instruments with my grandmother over the years and couldn't let all that time and effort go to waste now.

Renji was caught up in a conversation with the brick wall-sized Mixed Martial Arts club instructors and I awkwardly hovered around just off to the side waiting for him, when something unusual caught my eye.

In a dark corner of the room just past the stage where the disco ball lights weren't reaching sat what I had initially thought was an incomplete, abandoned booth. But the more I stared at it and let my eyes adjust to its dark surroundings the more I decided it had been put there intentionally. It had been dressed in a way that made it blend in with the shadows, with thick black velvet material covering its walls and table and a stack of dark-coloured papers at the centre of the table. There wasn't a single soul manning the booth or standing near it. It stood alone, ignored and forgotten.

My curiosity got the better of me and I wandered over to take a quick look, feeling like I was doing something wrong in being over there. I quickly snatched up a paper and hopping into the gap between it and the next booth over to scan the writing. It read:

Stealth Club

First club meeting tomorrow at midnight,

The highest room in the tallest tower,

Be there if you dare.

I raised an eyebrow at the cryptic challenge and I reread it several times. There was nothing on the other side. No application form, no other details given.

The stealth club... of course it would be cryptic because they were supposed to go unnoticed. They weren't likely to flaunt the club in the open like everyone else. And then the reason behind the dare hit me.

It was at midnight when everyone was supposed to be in bed after curfew. This was a challenge to sneak out and break the rules without being caught.

I grinned and muttered "Challenge accepted," to myself before folding the leaflet up and burying it in my pocket. I inconspicuously slipped back into the crowd and returned to where Renji was staring around looking bewildered. I nudged him and waved up at him. He gave me a look as if to ask where the hell I had vanished to and I pointed over to the food table and then to my cupcake in reply, the same cupcake I had been carrying before. He hadn't been paying enough attention to see that I hadn't eaten my first one and didn't even question the lie.

I had a feeling that the position of that Stealth Club's table was meant to draw attention to anyone who approached it and force them to search for a way to cover up their potential plan to break the rules if they were caught. I knew full well that if I'd have gone over there with Rukia and Momo they would have talked me out of it and been suspicious of my late-night whereabouts from there on. By going alone, I had managed to avoid detection, I assumed, I hopefully they wouldn't suspect a thing when I tried to sneak out the following night.

This was all one big test and so far I was passing with flying colours.

Eventually, Momo and Rukia returned empty-handed except for Momo's numerous Aizen leaflets and a few photographs, which she no doubt intended to spread across her bedroom wall. Rukia was annoyed that we had looked around without her when Renji showed her all the leaflets he had gathered. He had Zanjustu, Weapons training, Kendo, Mixed Martial Arts, Wrestling, and Kickboxing; which was still less than Momo who eventually picked up leaflets for the Kido club, Weapons Training, Cooking club, Breakfast club, Tea ceremony society, Flower Arrangement club, Dance club, Book club, Literature club, Fashion & Textiles club and the Homework club when we walked around for her and Rukia.

Rukia only really showed interest in two clubs, Kido and Arts & Crafts.

When we finished our last walk Momo unexpectedly pulled me and Rukia onto the dancefloor and made us do a really an embarrassingly awkward, clueless wiggle while she happily bounced around to the music.

I managed to sneak out of her way and hide behind Renji who was in stitches of at the side-lines.

That was not the type of dancing I was used to, and I would refuse to do that ever again.

When Momo got the urge to boogie out of her system we grabbed one last drink and stuffed up our pockets with food before heading outside to practice out Kido before curfew and call it a night.

Now we could finally hear each other talk.

"I can't believe you made me do that... I'm mortified..." I whimpered.

"Oh, lighten up, you're not the only person in that hall who isn't used to partying. No one is going to judge you" Momo reassured me.

"Except me, you looked like a chicken trying to fix a broken wing" Renji snickered.

I punched him in the arm "Shut up! At least I tried"

"Yep, it's the effort that counts" Momo smiled.

"Momo, have you even looked at these leaflets?" Rukia said flicking through the papers. "Literature and Book club are on together in the same library by run by different leaders, and that's at the same time as the Kido club on three separate days, and those all start thirty minutes before Cooking club." She paused to scan the leaflets more.

"Oh, and Tea Ceremony and Flower Arranging are on the same day as the ASS club too, but one hour apart. You'll never make it to most of these, and even if you could you'd have no time left for meals, chill time or study time" I said looking over her shoulder for myself.

"The ASS Club?" Rukia questioned with an eyebrow raised. She handed the leaflets to me so she could eat some food.

I folded them up and crammed them into Renji's pocket. He swatted me away and shoved them into mine, causing a chocolate bar to drop on the floor. I swore at him loudly and picked up it, thanking the gods that it was wrapped up.

"Yeah. Swap Aizen's names around and shorten it a bit and you get Aizen Sosuke Society, the ASS club." I clarified scrubbing the dirt off the wrapper.

Renji nearly choked on his drink and had to be patted on the back by Rukia who was also holding back giggles.

"Oh, stop it, Kimi! He's not a bad guy! It's not like he's ever done anything to hurt you. I don't understand why you hate him so much!" and before the end of Momo's sentence could even reach my ears, the world short-circuited, the noisy hall we were leaving behind dimmed to a tinny blur and the world went black.

Flashing images filled my eyes like a flickering film once again. I was looking up at the same bright full moon that we had been walking under just moments before, then it was blocked out by a white-robed silhouette. Aizen's eyes glimmered with malice behind his spectacles as he leaned his head into the light, glaring down at me. He mouthed something to another silhouette approaching from behind him and the moonlight glinted off a shaft of sharp metal.

The blade plunged into my chest and I woke up from my waking nightmare, screaming in terror and gasping for air.

The real full moon confused and disoriented me. For a moment I mistook Renji's Silhouette for Aizen's and took a defensive swipe at him. He leaped back in surprise and Rukia grabbed my arms.

Momo was cradling my head in her lap, stroking my hair, hushing me to relax.

My heart rate slowed, and I came back to my safe reality. I refused Renji's offer to pull me to my feet and leaped up on my own, swaying from dizziness.

I wasn't really taking in what they were saying, I just started walking towards the dorms and didn't look back.

Renji stayed with us until we were at Emerald's front door to make sure we got home safe. They kept asking me if I was okay and demanding details, but I shook my head in fear that I might be sick if I opened my mouth. I managed to mutter a sorry and a good night to the girls who asked about Kido practice, but I ignored them and locked myself away.

I was too shook up to practice my Spirit Energy control, but I was way too alert to go to bed. I sat there trying to make sense of what I had seen, but I couldn't even figure out how, when, where or why I would have met Aizen. How did I not remember the encounter?

My amnesia only covered my life before I had been sent to the Soul Society as a spirit, not after. Why would Aizen have been anywhere near me, and when had it happened? I tried to recall more details, but only remembered the vague suggestion of woodland and being sprawled on a forest floor.

Then the realization hit me. I remembered the day that I was found in a forest in the middle of winter, unconscious and on the verge of hyperthermia when Captain Unohana told me I had a Captain level memory lock placed on my mind.

At that moment I knew my vision was a real memory and I wasn't just imagining my fear and hatred of Sosuke Aizen. It was a very real primal fear for something that was only barely breaking through the cracks of the memory Kido that he must have put on me to stop me from... what? Accusing him of hurting me? Had I wronged him in some way to deserve being hurt? That was the part I didn't understand.

Why would a captain have an issue with a little, harmless Rukon girl? And even more confusingly, if my vision was correct, how was I still alive after having a blade plunged through my heart? Perhaps one day the memory lock would break and I would be able to out Aizen for what he truly was.

All these thoughts swimming through my mind kept me tossing and turning for hours. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I got up and headed to my balcony to try and cast the Shakkaho spell a few times.

I knew full well that not practicing was not a good idea and the prospect of failing the spell in front of the whole class promised an even less chance of getting some sleep tonight.

After a solid hour of repeatedly chanting the incantation while awake, I managed to summon my energy to my hands without meditating to search for it. I could do it to my feet like it was second nature, but this required a lot more focus. But eventually, after managing to first a few beams of light I felt my strength waning and my eyes growing heavy, so I crawled into bed and forced myself into an uneasy, fitful sleep.


	26. Shakka-SPLOSION

_**Chapter 26 - Shakka-SPLOSION**_

I sat up in the cherry blossom tree outside of my dorm room, its flowers glowing an unnaturally bright pink in the intense moonlight. I took a deep gulp of cold air, pulling the thin sleeves if my jumper further down my arms to fight the breeze. I thought it unusually cold for the time of year.

I looked down from my perch expecting to see the lake that filled the grounds on this side of campus, but instead, I saw what seemed to be a small town from a view that suggested I was atop a cliff or hillside, its many lights flickering into existence like bright golden laced spiderwebs. I frowned down at it wondering why there would be a village on campus. That couldn't be right, surely. I shook the thought out of mind and looked down again. I felt like I knew the place. A pang of sadness hit my heart and I couldn't bear to look at the town anymore. I got up and without leaping down from the tree began running. Its long winding branches transformed into a path surrounded by dense forest on either side. This time I didn't question my bizarre change of surrounding. I had no idea where I was going, I just needed to get away from that town.

Just then something caught my attention. I wasn't the only one up at this late hour. Another person was coming towards me at a run. I dived into a bush at the edge of the woods and watched her glide past as if she hadn't seen me. She was blonde and small enough to possibly be a little bit younger than me and wearing a Soul Reaper uniform, but weirdly her facial features were blurred like someone had patched them over with a shimmering silk that matched her skin tone. I frowned again, wondering how she had not noticed me or stopped to ask why I was out here all alone when suddenly a massive humanoid being with the face of an indescribable white beast jumped out on the girl roaring at her in distress and rage.

It bolted and she followed at a sprint. I followed too, though my legs didn't seem to be moving as quickly as I knew they could. It was as if my body didn't know what to do with its spiritual energy. No matter how much I told it to run faster it just couldn't, like I hadn't learned how to yet. I willed myself to catch up, then suddenly it was like the world shifted around me.

The girl, the monster and I swapped place so that I was now its prey and she was chasing after us. I glanced back over my shoulder and saw the beast gaining on me rapidly. I began to panic, desperate to get to safety. With a roar of effort and frustration, I forced all of my spirit energy to my feet in an attempt to a flash step but nothing happened.

I looked forward and standing towards the end of the path was him. Sosuke Aizen in his white cloak with his sword already unsheathed.

Suddenly I was running too fast, the immense speed that I was used to had finally returned to me all at once and I knew I couldn't possibly stop in time. Aizen gave me that vile, smug smile and he raised his sword and I ran right into him, impaling myself in the chest. The world exploded into a blinding white light and I woke up screaming.

I almost fell out of my bunk as my body was forced into fight-or-flight mode.

"Hey! Calm down, it's only me!" came a startled voice from down below me. My eyes came into focus and I spotted Momo opening my balcony door to let some fresh air in and I relaxed. She had come in and opened my curtains to wake me up, that would explain the burst of light.

"Good morning sleepy head! Nice of you to join us" She said sweetly breathing in the cool morning spring air.

I took a deep breath. Thank god it was just a bad dream I thought, now understanding why everything seemed out of place. I threw my face back down into my pillow with a groan.

"Momo! Why?!" I demanded

Just then Rukia popped her head around the door, "Because revenge is sweet!" she said slyly before pulling away.

"And because you're gonna be late for class, dummy" Momo added, not disagreeing with Rukia's statement. I peeked out from my pillow as she was picking up some of the books that had fallen from their piles on my floor. "Look at this mess… And you forgot to set your alarm clock before you went to sleep" she said waving around the little black box that had been sitting on the desk below me.

I groaned. I wanted to remind her that cleaning was the last thing on my mind last night with that terrifying blackout vision that was now giving me nightmares, but I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to be smothered with sympathy like I was a sick person, so instead I made an excuse to get her off my back. "I don't usually use an alarm clock, my body is my alarm but I barely slept last night and now my body is malfunctioning,"

She gave me another look of concern but thankfully didn't pry. "Sorry to break it to you but we have a Kido test in just under an hour... maybe you should start setting an alarm from now on, just in case"

At this, I launched up and vaulted over the edge of my bed to the floor and started gathering up my uniform. "Crap, crap crap! No time to be tired. I'm gonna be in deep crap if I'm late"

Momo blinked. "Well that was a 180, I'll leave you to it" and she backed out shutting the door behind her.

I was completely covered in sweat on my back and chest from the nightmare. I knew it was stupid, but I had to double check that there wasn't any kind of scar on my chest where Aizen's blade had penetrated. There wasn't, but It felt like there should be. I couldn't remember ever having a dream that was vivid enough to make me scream out loud before. I didn't know what it meant or if it was related to last night's blackout, but just then I couldn't care less. I'd ponder that some more another time but now I had more important things to think about.

Thankfully I wasn't a bathroom hogger or a slow dresser like a certain someone who had miraculously managed to be ready before me. I had expected my lateness to domino onto Rukia and Momo as they'd seemed like the type to need a wake-up call every morning, but I was wrong. They were perfectly capable of being on time without my help.

I felt a little bit more human once Id showered and nibbled on a cookie from my stash.

We headed down to our Homeroom to get signed in for the day.

Onabara was in a pretty good mood when we arrived, it seemed us students weren't the only ones who enjoyed the party last night. He went around the class asking people if they had a good time and if they had decided on what clubs they wanted to join.

Renji, on the other hand, looked annoyed.

"Where the hell were you? I stood outside your dorm looking like a freak for half hour!"

"Blame sleeping beauty over here," Momo said jerking a thumb to me.

I shrugged. "Rough night"

"Should have known it would be your fault." He muttered pushing past me to hand over his Weapons Training applications to Onabara.

"Shut it. I've has never been late before, this was a one-off"

"Don't even think about getting into bad habits, Murasaki" Onabara warned me. "Tardiness won't be tolerated"

"I know Sir, I was Ill last night at the party so I didn't sleep well, It won't happen again"

"Good. Do you three have applications to hand over?"

"Yes, sir" Momo smiled handing over her ASS club application and I resisted the urge rip it up.

"Anyone else?"

I shook my head. "I'm undecided at the moment, I don't want to take on too much of a workload. The track team and the music club are both big time-consuming commitments"

"We're still deciding too but we think we will join Kido club together" Rukia announced. I frowned. They hadn't said anything to me about that. "Sorry, you were asleep when we had the idea but we figured your schedule might be full with Music and Track team." She clarified when she caught my confused face.

"Oh, No its fine. I definitely won't be able to handle all three"

"It wouldn't be a bad idea, joining a classroom-based club gives you a head start on your class sessions and more time to practice. You might want to consider it but remember that try-outs for teams with limited positions are taking place over the next few days so you only have one more day left to decide" Onabara advised.

I nodded just to make them happy. All I was interested in was running off some energy and playing my instruments. If that meant I dropped behind the others then so be it, I would just have to work harder in class. It would take them years to catch up with my level on Hoho, Hakuda, and Zanjustu anyway thanks to my years of training so I wasn't overly concerned.

The bell rang and we headed out to the Kido hall.

"Have you practiced?" Rukia asked Renji almost scornfully as if knowing the truth, regardless of whether he answered yes or no.

"Of course I have, what do you take me for?"

"A slacker. I can't bail you out of a test so for your sake I hope so"

He tsked. "I don't need bailing out, I got this," he said confidently.

We were given another ten minutes just to allow everyone one last chance to memorize the spell. I made sure to reread the spell over and over again until I had it memorized and could recite it fluidly.

Madame Onigei called for us to line up into three groups of ten sitting on our knees along the open patio a few meters in front of the targets. Rukia, Momo and I were in the second group. I looked to my left for Renji and saw that he was for some reason in the group behind us, probably trying to buy himself more time to memorize the spell.

Onigei called for the first group to come up. They stepped forward and all at once began reciting their spells with their arms outstretched.

When the spells fired it was like watching a firework display that had been organized by toddlers. A few of 'fireworks' were the wrong type or went in the wrong direction, and one person managed to produce only feeble sparks the fluttered to the floor.

Only one member of that group hit his bullseyes dead center with a near perfect shot of red energy, a tall young man with white blonde hair and a kind smile. Madame Onigei praised him and told the rest of the group that she expected to see improvement.

Our group was next. The three of us stepped forward with the rest of our row, held out our hand's palm out and began to chant. I forced my eyes open while speaking and focused on the center of the target in front of me. "Ruler! Mask of flesh and blood, all things in the universe fly. Ye who bears the name of Man, gathering heat and war." I felt around for my spiritual energy and pulled it to the surface, focusing it into the palm of my hand. "Beyond the seas in reverse, take steps to the south: Hado number 33 – Shakkaho Red Flame Cannon!" I finished, shouting out the name of the spell a little too forcefully.

My spell cast more like a white lightning bolt than a fireball. It ripped through the air with what sounded like a sonic boom and blasted through the bottom of the target where it joined to the metal pole.

My target clattered to the floor in a smouldering heap with some of the metal pole still attached. The rest of the class looked on, gasping in surprise or giving appreciative claps at the level of destruction I'd caused. I cringed. I'd managed to bring attention to myself by completely screwing up, again. I was hoping that it would at least come out in the right shape or color but I hadn't improved at all from my attempts last night.

I looked over at Momo and Rukia's targets. Rukia's was singed at the bottom in the same place as mine, and Momo had a clean circular blast mark just above the bullseye. They were staring at me shaking their heads with smiles that said: "Look, you're at it again!" I shrugged at them with an embarrassed grimace.

"Well, at least everyone managed to successfully cast a spell." Madame Onigei announced as a jab towards the failures of the first group. "You're a little heavy handed with your spirit energy, Miss Murasaki. Please try to work on your control. Perhaps you'll be better when we come to the lightning-based Kido" she suggested, not exactly mad at me. It was our first time, after all, so she couldn't really expect us to be perfect.

"Yes Ma'am, sorry about that, I'm working on it" I promised as we stepped back to let Renji's group take their turn.

They stepped forward. "She wanted a flamethrower, not a laser beam, clutz" he mumbled as he brushed past me.

"Let's see you do better then, stupid" I challenged him.

He had a cocky smile on his face as he rolled up the left sleeve of his uniform, revealing writing along his forearm. Onigei didn't notice what he was doing because the arm with the writing was facing away from her.

I gave a tsk of disgust. "Cheater."

Rukia frowned and looked around me to see what I was talking about and rolled her eyes when she saw. "That's why he went to the back row…"

"Should have expected it."

My eyes widened as I heard him fumble over a word and go back to reread it. "That idiot…" I hissed. "He's gonna mess it up,"

Rukia frowned and leaned in to listen close. Just as he finished the chant he spoke the end of the spell more loudly, clearly and forcefully like I had done, no doubt trying to one-up me on the power scale.

"Renji!" Rukia called out but it was too late.

There was a floor-shaking boom and the room filled with black smoke, illuminated in places where bright orange sparks scattered around the room like bouncing firecrackers. I grabbed Rukia and Momo by the shoulders and pulled them down to the floor where the smoke was thinnest, coughing up a mouthful as we went.

"What the hell did he do!?" Momo called above the commotion of our panicking classmates.

A roar came, and a fierce gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, pushing the thick black plumes out of the open patio doors like a giant invisible net. We sat up, still coughing and rubbing our soot-stained eyes.

"Oh my god…" I said in disbelief as I looked over to where Renji had been.

Instead, there was a huge, gaping hole in the floorboards, the remaining wood blackened and charred around the edges. We scrambled up and ran to the edge to look down. There sat Renji among the wreckage of the burning foundations, completely blackened with soot from head to toe, coughing up a lung.

"Renji!? Are you okay?!" Rukia called down to him. But he couldn't answer through the force of his coughing.

"Abarai!?" Onigei called in anger. "What were you thinking? Did you even bother to practice at all? If you'd have read the textbook like I told you yesterday you would have known not to reread sections of the spell if you got them wrong, but to start from the beginning instead. I would rather you be late than blow up my classroom!"

Renji stared up at her blankly, seeming completely confused and disoriented. He looked around at the debris and then up at the rest of the class looking down at him.

"I should have put money on it…" I murmured to Rukia who held back a laugh. Momo elbowed me lightly and moved forward to help Renji up. He shook his head like a wet dog shaking off the rain and wiped his sleeve across his face leaving a big smear of visible skin. Rukia leaned in to take his other hand and I noticed something odd.

"Renji… what's wrong with your face?" I asked. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

He was finally up out of the hole and Rukia used her sleeve to wipe the rest of his face… revealing a distinctly obvious missing facial feature.

"No way… He burnt his eyebrows off!" I howled bursting into laughter. I really couldn't help it. The look on his face was priceless and I would never let him live that moment down. The rest of the class caught my contagious laughter and Momo swatted me away as she and Rukia pulled him away from the crowd.

"Alright, that's enough," Onigei called over the kerfuffle, clapping loudly for our attention. "Miss Abarai, see that your brother gets medical attention and have him come to my office when he is well. Everyone else, you're dismissed too, we cannot continue with this mess."

There was an excited cheer.

"Don't get too excited, this doesn't mean you all got out being tested. Thanks to Mister Abarai's carelessness you'll all be retaking the test when the classroom is repaired." The class groaned miserably and everyone slouched towards the exit.

"Sorry, Ma'am…" Rukia sighed looking resigned as we walked past Onigei the way out.

I felt bad for Rukia, she clearly felt responsible for Renji in some way and it wasn't fair for her to bear his burden. I wanted to cheer her up but I didn't know what to say without sounding rude towards Renji so I followed them quietly towards the medical wing.

Renji still seemed completely out of it. He definitely wasn't right because he hadn't started an argument over my outburst.

"Kimi… that was mean. You shouldn't do that" Momo complained once we were away from people.

"Hey, if you can't take the heat keep out the kitchen. He challenged me, and he failed. What do you expect?" I said with a shrug. "He gets as good as he gives. He would have done the same if that was me back there, right Rukia?"

She didn't answer right away. "I suppose so. You're as bad as each other…"

"No Rukia! Don't condone it, that was not okay!" Momo said sharply. "He's hurt Kimi, and you didn't even think to help him before teasing him. He can't even defend himself right now, look at him!" I did look at him and all I saw was that blank, gormless expression on his face that made me bite my lip to force down a laugh. Then the bitterness and anger hit me.

"Yeah right." I spat. "I'll remember that the next time I'm on the floor with bruised ribs while he and the rest of the school stand by and watch me cry in agony. Sorry to burst your bubble but that is far more humiliating and painful than burning your eyebrows off." There was an awkward. "Ugh, Whatever. Catch you two later, I've got places to be."

I turned on my heel and walked back the direction we had come and out towards the dorm. Rukia called for me but I ignored her and carried on walking.

I didn't really have places to be. I just couldn't stand Momo accusing me of something that Renji had instigated, which she hadn't even witnessed. If she had been there I was sure she would be more understanding. But I wasn't gonna to let her make me out to be a bad person after the pain and humiliation he put me through. If he wasn't such an asshole, or if he had even attempted to sincerely apologize to me I wouldn't have hated him as much as I did. He deserved everything he got and more.

There was still another half hour until the next lesson which gave me plenty of time to switch into clean uniform and have a relaxing shower. As I was finishing up they entered the dorm to freshen up too.

In other circumstances, I probably would have waited for them, but right now I didn't want to hear their crap. So I left through my balcony window without letting them know I was there and headed out to our next lesson.

For our Soul Reaper Theory class Onabara followed on from the introductory lesson and talking us through the protocol on how to report and respond to hollow attacks and the basic do's and don'ts of hunting them down.

Simple stuff really, like: Only go in alone if it's a weak hollow; Never try to take on a listed or wanted hollow alone; Don't jeopardize your position if you've been given a tracking or recon job; Don't risk your teammate's lives. Pretty much common-sense stuff but the fact that it was being taught in school told me that there were idiots out there that had made stupid mistakes and probably been fired for them. I became engrossed in my textbook again, reading a few pages ahead of what Onabara set for us which that helped time fly quickly.

Momo and Rukia tagged along behind me after class on the way down to the cafeteria. They didn't mention what happened earlier, just acted like nothing was wrong.

Rukia seemed restless. She had a full bowl of ramen in front of her but she was only dipping her spoon into the broth and watching it fill before pouring into away again.

"You gonna eat that?" I asked eyeing it up after drinking the last of the soup from my bowl.

"No… I'm not really hungry… Want it?"

Momo stopped Rukia from pushing the bowl towards me and pushing it back to her. "Rukia he is with a nurse, she knows what to do he'll be fine," she said adding an extra slice from her bowl onto Rukia's "Now sit and eat up. You can have that, I don't like those eggs"

I cleared my throat and just for the sake of peace asked awkwardly: "He wasn't too badly hurt then? No head trauma?" I didn't wanna ask if the shock had made him even more stupid than he already was because they probably wouldn't appreciate the jab.

"No, nothing major. It seems the debris from the explosion hit him pretty hard on the head. The nurse was healing a mild concussion when we left" Rukia told me as she scooped a few noodles onto her spoon. Her chopstick lay untouched, she hadn't quite mastered the art of utensils yet.

"Good to know he's okay," I said mildly and far more formally than I would usually speak, especially to my friends. I didn't know what else to say and I wondered if the amount of effort I was putting into this was obvious to them.

"He should be back in action by tomorrow at the latest"

"Well, at least we might get a few more days to practice Shakkaho before Onigei gives us something else to learn. I don't see how we can have a lesson in that warzone" I pointed out just to change the conversation.

"Good, I managed to cast it, but I definitely need more time to get it right. Didn't she say the next one was lightning type Kido because of your epic laser beam?"

"Not quite. She said there would be lightning based Kido but didn't say when we would learn it." I sighed. "I just can't seem to moderate how much energy I use at once. I'm hoping I'll find some books that teach a spell to reduce one's Spirit energy reserves... It would be easier to control if I had less of it…"

"Hey, having a lot of spirit energy isn't necessarily a bad thing once you get it under control. I doubt you'd be complaining if you could outlast your opponent in a fight because you have more energy in reserve. Don't be so hard on yourself" Momo said confidently.

Suddenly I felt like a horrible person for being so mean about Renji when Rukia and Momo were such purely positive, supportive people. I had been so mean but they still stood by me. I felt like my negativity and stubbornness was dragging them down. I couldn't let that happen anymore. I needed to find a way to settle mine and Renji's differences before they got out of hand.

"Thanks, guys." I grimaced trying to feel positive. "It'll get better soon, I hope."


	27. Initiation

**Chapter 27 - Initiation**

The last lesson of the day was history. Another boring one that had me almost passing out on the desk. I wished there was at very least something on the walls to distract me, but they were blank and even the textbooks were numbing my brain. All those times and dates and old-fashioned names from a bygone era trickled from one ear straight out of the other.

When we arrived at homeroom an hour later Momo and Rukia handed over their applications for the Kido and Arts & Crafts clubs which they planned to attend together. Their assumption that I wasn't interested in the clubs themselves was true, but I did feel a little bit left out by the fact that they went ahead without even talking about it with me.

I forced myself to stop over thinking things and put in an application for the Music Club. My plan was to see how the Hoho class tomorrow morning went before applying for the Track Team. If the class itself was going to be enough of an energy outlet for me then I wouldn't need to apply for the team too. If I was to go for both but couldn't handle the workload of my lessons on top of the club commitments, I would just have my family send my own instruments over and play for fun when I felt like it in my free time. One way or another, I was dying to get my hands on some music.

When Onabara called for order and the start of Meditation I got up from my seat and retrieved a shiny new hall pass from his desk. I waved my goodbyes to the girls and promised to meet them for dinner in an hour then made my way to the library.

The library building was more like the size of a church or maybe even a cathedral on the outside. It looked as though it had been built in a different time period judging by different style architect than the rest of the school. It stood isolated at the center of a large grassy park in the middle of campus and was constructed of grey stone covered with neatly maintained foliage, with many long stain glassed windows high up on the walls that illustrated various scenes of reading and knowledge, rather than the white walls and a golden rooves of the rest of the campus. Perhaps it was a newer addition.

The inside of the library felt more like a museum. Past the basic entrance hall that helped separate the tranquillity of the library from the hustle and bustle outside, numerous stacks ran from one end of the building to the other, each reaching up for what had to be at least twenty feet and still not close to touching the second floor that went around the edges of the room below the vaulted ceiling and its many skylights. Around the edges of the room were more shelves of books and some cabinets that showcased various curious artifacts and objects of interest that the books described, all in some way related to Soul Reapers, Hollows and their Arts; below these were single study desks and recesses in the wall with larger tables for group study.

I strolled the halls for a long while looking at the spines of the books and getting a general idea of the subjects on each shelf.

There was everything from books on cooking in the recreational activities section, to books on high-level and forbidden Kido techniques. This piqued my interest and I glanced into one of the books in question but being a complete novice in the subject the complex writing was like a foreign language to me.

I found the section on Spiritual Energy and picked up a couple of promising books. There were a few that explained what Spirit Energy actually is, where it comes from and its uses. A few others explained what Spiritual Pressure is, how to sense, measure and contain it and how it can affect people around you. I figured they sounded like a good place to start.

The far back wall of the library was unoccupied, so I set my books down and made myself comfortable for the last forty minutes before lunch. The introductions of the books did clarify a few things for me, but it was mostly stuff I already knew or had figured out for myself.

At the end of the hour the bell rang out in the distance to signal the end of the school day and I packed up ready to leave, marking my place in chapter three so I could come back to it later.

As I headed away something unusual caught my eye in a cabinet off to my left. Most of the things over here were items that had been Imbedded with Kido, like old paper talismans and charms but this one thing stood out from the rest like a sore thumb. It was a large, shrivelled up, wrinkled white hand that like distinctly human. Out of morbid curiosity, I wandered up to the glass to read the paper tag below it.

The hand of Glory

Created to replicate the old human legend, this mummified hand was taken from the freshly hung corpse of a thief and was once embedded with a long-forgotten ancient Kido technique that enabled the possessor to become invisible to all around them, unlock any door and have impeccable sight in the dark when held with a candle made of the fat of the hand's deceased owner. An aid to thieves, assassins and those engaging in mischief.

These techniques have now been developed into other, more simple Kido incantations that no longer required the ritualistic severing and mummification of a human hand, therefore this ancient art has been rendered obsolete. Read more about this legend in book 27965 on human myths and legends.

I stared at the thing in fascination. It couldn't be just a coincidence that I was seeing this it on the day I was planning to get up to mischief in the middle of the night. Maybe it was a sign. I was tempted to take the gruesome old thing off the shelf and smuggle it out to see if It still had any juice left in it, but then I figured it would probably trigger an alarm if it was removed and I didn't fancy carrying some poor dead guy's gnarled old hand around the school with me. I could imagine there being some extremely awkward questions asked about finding body parts in my possession if anyone else came across it and I didn't want to be mistaken for a murderer.

Maybe if tonight went well, or even if It went badly, I would come back and look for the Invisibility Kido that the tag mentioned to help me in my sneaking around. Surely something like that would be worth the risk to learn.

I headed to the front desk to register the books for a week so I hopefully wouldn't have to come back here for a while and made my way to dinner.

"You took your time, we were going to send out a search party for you" Momo smiled as I arrived and took my seat with a plate of pasta.

"Sorry, I got side-tracked" I offered but I didn't feel like I could tell them about my discovery in case it gave away my intentions. They would probably find it repulsive anyway, especially at dinner time.

Renji was still conspicuous in his absence and I noticed Rukia glancing at his empty seat across from me a few times as if willing him to just appear.

"So, did you find any useful reading material?" she asked.

"Yeah, just the basic stuff for now. I'll read through it and see if there's something I'm doing wrong. You should come with me sometime, there's tons of interesting thing there, especially on Kido"

"I've never been to a library before…" Rukia said wistfully more to herself.

"We'll take you someday, maybe when we learn a new Kido spell we can go and read up on it to learn it faster" Momo suggested.

"I've registered the books for now so I don't have to keep traveling backward and forwards. Hopefully, Onabara will let me read in class or go back home to read."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind as long as he sees improvement," she said, scanning the titles on the spines of the books. "I'm sure this will be enough to help you, at any rate. There's like two weeks' worth of reading here at least!"

"You've seen how fast I read when I'm in my zone, this stack will only take me a few days" I promised as I dipped bread into my creamy cheese sauce.

After dinner, Momo took Rukia for one last visit to the medical center and I split from them to head back to the dorm alone. There were a few hours until midnight and I was far too restless to sleep, so I continued with the first book from where I left off and intermittently practiced my Spiritual Control. The things it suggested made a lot of sense, but it was going to take more than one night to undo many years of bad habits.

I tried not to overdo it in case I ended up needing full energy reserves for my little journey tonight, so when the girls arrived home I made sure to make a show of heading into the kitchen for a snack in my pajamas and then hogging the bathroom loudly before "sleepy time".

They totally brought the act and didn't suspect a thing as the two of them settle in their own rooms.

Around eleven-thirty, I crept out of my room and listened at their doors to hear their deep, calm sleeping breaths. They were sound out. Perfect.

I changed into the tight black clothes that I always wore back home when I snook out at night.

A long sleeve black hooded jumped to cover my hair, a black scarf over my face, black leggings, black running shoes and black gloves, just in case I accidentally left any incriminating fingerprint. I didn't know if that was really a thing but all of the novels I had read in my time back home had made me cautious of such blunders.

I strapped Ruby to my waste, wondering if it was entirely necessary to bring my sword and feeling self-conscious about how clunky it felt. The brown leather belt I had wrapped around me over the outside of my jumper with thick and heavy. I was torn between taking it off in case it hindered my speed or keeping it just in case the club involved combat.

I looked myself over in the mirror. Yeah, it looked awkward, but any qualified Soul Reaper would never leave on a mission like this without their Zanpakuto, so I couldn't either. It was just something I would have to get used to.

I stashed the Stealth Club's challenge flier in my hoodie pocket and slid my balcony door as gently as I could and closed it behind me, flash stepped up onto the roof and quickly ran into the shadow of a chimney nearby.

I had been thinking about the challenge a lot and there was only one place I could think of as "The highest room of the tallest tower".

It had to be the clock tower at the center of campus overlooking the park where the library stood. There was no other place it could be, that tower had to be the highest point of the Academy and being at the center, it rang out for every person in a five-mile radius to hear. It told us when lessons started and ended. It was a crucial part of our school life so I was certain I had to go there.

I headed off at a run, flashing across the rooftops, using the shadows for cover just in case any members of authority were out patrolling for rule breakers at this time of night. I didn't see or sense anyone but it wasn't worth the risk.

I got to roof of the building below the tower and without hesitation used a technique I hadn't used for a long time to scale the tower. I used to do this all the time when my Sister and I timed how fast I could climb trees, but that was many years ago when I was just a child. I sent my energy to my feet so I would cling to the sides of the building and ran as fast as I could up the vertical white stone surface, focusing on nothing else so I wouldn't lose my Spiritual grip. At the top, I vaulted over the golden low wall and onto the platform.

At the center was a huge golden bell, shining brightly under the moonlight from the south. I paced around taking in its intricate engravings, my senses still on high alert to my surroundings.

I was alone but that didn't last long.

Someone landed from a jump close by, then another person, then another came up through a door that must have led to some stairs. More and more people arrived until eventually at least thirty of us milled around the bell tower. No one spoke. Some glared as if not trusting everyone else to give us away, others look anxious like they just wanted to turn around and go back home.

I noticed that only a handful of us had brought our Asauchi's. A few hadn't even bothered to conceal themselves, they were wearing their uniforms or their own brightly colored extremely conspicuous clothes. Others were wearing black the same as me, but some hadn't bothered to cover up their distinguishing features like their face and hair. How could anyone wanting to join this club make such a rookie mistake?

I felt a strong Spiritual Pressure approaching, but I couldn't pinpoint its direction. Out of instinct, my hand went to Ruby's hilt, ready to defend myself.

Suddenly another person dropped in out of nowhere.

The young woman was wearing what looked unmistakably like a ninja outfit, complete with the tight black face mask, netting across her flat chest and long armbands. Her long Soul Reaper style flared pants had gaps on the sides showing her thighs and what looked to be a real Zanpakuto was attached to the small of her back. Her dark grey eyes shone behind a straight black fringe of hair under a hood much like mine. That was her only visible feature.

A few others joined me in a defensive stance, others watched her cautiously or with interest.

She looked around at us and smiled. "Good to see we have so many ballsy new recruits this year, I wasn't expecting this many of you," she said. She had a young voice which complimented her petite figure. She was probably slightly older than me.

I hadn't expected many either. I'd been expecting to be alone, I couldn't imagine many people seeing that booth at the busy party or risking it to get here in the middle of the night.

"You're here because you have a healthy sense of curiosity, a sense of adventure, or you're an adrenaline junky and the idea of getting away with doing something risky getting your blood pumping." She said, pacing the floor slowly, looking to each of us in turn. "Whichever reason it is, you all made it here tonight without getting caught, so that's a good start."

I smiled. It wasn't my first time at sneaking out with consequences stacked against me, but this time I was more concerned about finding the meeting point than getting caught.

"However, it's a shame that some of you just don't have that stealthy mindset that this club requires." She said, turning her compliment upside down with a harsh disappointment slipping into her voice. She looked between the people who hadn't fully concealed themselves or were wearing inappropriate clothing.

"The reason we don't have an application form or a booth is that this is an illegal activity and we want our members to be anonymous, so by not concealing your identity, I or any of your peers can easily find out your names and report you. You've given yourself away." She told them matter of factly. All of them looked wide-eyed shock as if this hadn't occurred to them.

"And to make it worse, so many of you thought it unnecessary to bring your swords. Quite frankly I'm offended that you didn't take this seriously or consider it enough of a challenge to come armed. Did you all think this was some child's meeting to get together and drink tea while you brag about escaping your dorms after curfew? If I'd have pulled my Zanpakuto on you, how would you have reacted? Run and cry or fight back again an armed, fully qualified Soul Reaper with your bare, untrained fists?" She asked the room at large. No one answered. Many of them hung their heads or looked away awkwardly.

"Exactly. If you're not treating things of this nature as you would with real missions, you're not ready yet, mentally or physically. You walked into the unknown unarmed and unprepared. Go home and come again next year if you've learned some more about the stealth arts." She said dismissively, making it clear that she didn't have time for them. They looked around uncertainly and then left, some taking the stairs at their leisure, some leaping off the building.

"To the rest of you, well done. You made it through the first Initiation test. But this is only the beginning." She continued her pacing once more. "The Head captain always mentions 'The stealth squads of the future' in his welcome speech, but the Academy does not teach the sort of things that the Stealth Squads require of their members. So, I took it into my own hands. This club is here to train those of you who have the natural talent and skill to be stealthy and ideally train you to the level where you are good enough to join a Stealth Force division upon graduation if that is the path you wish to follow. We will meet at random days and host various challenges based on stealth, speed, agility, concealment, disguise, capture, escape, information gathering, interrogation and more. But before I can call you a member I have one more test for you."

This surprised even me. I hadn't been expecting anything else. I'd been expecting to be acknowledged as a member and sent back to bed.

She cleared her throat before speaking clearly as if reciting a poem she had memorized. "This academy has ten main subjects. I have ten tokens that identify its owner as a member of this club. You can have one if you can find one." She said cryptically. Just by the way she spoke I knew she had been the author of the original challenge. I frowned. So, she had some mystery item that she had hidden in ten locations around campus?

"But… there's more than ten people here…" one of the other applicants said aloud sounding confused.

"Very perceptive," the woman said flatly.

I hissed in dismay and shook my head. I should have known it couldn't possibly be this easy. We were going to have to compete for membership.

"Oh, and to make it a little more interesting, you're about to have a few more… guests." She said.

"Wait, what?" I asked, my heart leaping but before we could ask she snapped her fingers and there was an almighty bang.

In the courtyard below us, smoke was billowing up from a canister that was spinning in circles on the stone floor. Some sort of smoke grenade.

"Shit!" I cursed aloud and the woman flash stepped away. I had to move and fast, that noise would have woken everyone and alerted the authorities. She had basically sent up a signal flare that said "Hey! There are rule breakers over here! Come and get them!" and now we had to find our way around incoming patrols while searching for some unknown object.

I began running in any direction, trying to think where this token could be. I saw others heading out towards the Kido halls and the Zanjutsu and Weapons training dojo's, the most popular subjects and the obvious choice that would no doubt result in conflict.

Which subject would someone be the least likely to search? I wondered as I sprinted for cover. I personally would avoid history like the plague and I hadn't seen anyone heading in that direction so I changed course and went that way. I couldn't think of a single place in those plain and boring history lecture rooms that could be a hiding place for a 'token', but I went to each of them anyway.

I clung to the edge of the building, running through the shadows away from any pathways, lanterns or a sign of activity. I heard hurried footsteps, talking and shouts on the way to the through the park towards the northern end of campus and ducked down behind a hedgerow out of sight, waiting for the voices to fade into the distance before rushing away again. They were talking about rushing to the disturbance which suggested that this area would be abandoned.

Thankfully the history classrooms were far enough away from the diversion to not draw attention, so I had made a good safe choice. I went to my own history classroom first. Instead of finding a way into the building I peeked through the window and looked around. It was dark and empty, the desks were bare, the board was wiped clean and the teacher's desk was empty except for a vase with a single wilting flower. It said a lot about the class.

There was a chance that something was in the teacher's desk drawer though, so I snook around the outer wall and headed into the hallway through the northern entrance. I ran lightly on my tiptoes, thankfully the soft material of my shoes gave off no sound. I went from room to room checking the drawers. Nothing. Nothing at all that looked like a token of any kind.

I wondered where else a history token could be. Then I spotted a book on the left side of the drawer. The Complete History of the Soul Society – Volumes 1-3.

Then it clicked. History was written in books, and where were books kept? The place that I had spent an hour studying in today, where there are also all sorts of weird and wonderful objects displayed.

I cursed again. The library was right next to the damn diversion. In choosing what I assumed would be the easiest choice I had potentially screwed myself over. The diversion had backfired on me.

There was no choice, the more popular subjects would have been found by now. I had to risk it.

I flashed out of the building and headed back the way I had come towards the center of the campus where the smoke grenade was still causing a commotion. It seemed that most of the attention was drawn to that point.

Thankfully they hadn't managed to deactivate the canister yet and the smoke was spreading in my direction by the wind. I used it as cover and flash stepped to the wall of the library building and forced myself into a gap in the wall concealed by a vine of ivy.

I made sure all of the voices were coming from the other side of the building before flashing to the front doors and sneaking into the entrance hall. I had not been expecting the door to be unlocked, but that made me hopeful they I was in the right place and whoever had placed the token had left the building unlocked for me. Either that or someone had beat me to it.

I looked around feeling once again overwhelmed by the sheer size of the interior. It had been hard to find the books I had been looking for, but now I had to find some vague item under this much pressure with so much potential danger right outside my door? I had to coax myself to continue walking at a brisk pace down the central aisle. If I didn't I was afraid I would lose my nerve, but I couldn't go back now. There were so many potential hiding places, some many possible objects that could be my target, not to mention the eerie atmosphere this place had in the dark, like all of these ancient tomes and artifacts were observing me and silently screaming my location out to potential enemies. Every shadow seemed to ungulate like a creature could be hiding in it. Daunted but determined I strode forward purposefully.

The place seemed deserted, but I didn't risk making noise in case the librarian was on site or someone else was sneaking these halls.

I came to the back wall that I had observed earlier in the day. Then it clicked. The Hand of Glory! The Aid of Thieves, Assassins and Mischief Makers! I thought with a jolt of illation. I ran to the spot I had studied at easier and to my delight there was something there that had definitely not caught my attention earlier.

Wrapped around the hand's wrist was a small bracelet made of small jet-black beads. Their lacquered surfaces reflected brightly in a shaft of moonlight from a ceiling window high above me. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the token, and someone had placed it in this spot deliberately. I picked up the chain and turned it over in my hand. The beads were made of unmistakable Onyx, another coincidence? And a silver S was embedded into the surface of the largest bead at the center. I stood there for a moment, half expecting some sort of amazing Kido to emanate from the stone, magically marking me as a member or something cheesy like that. But nothing happened. I tossed it up in the air and caught it smiling in triumph and turned to leave.

Just as I put my hand on the door handle to pull it towards me another voice on the other side of the door stopped me in my tracks.

"I don't know. I just want to check in here too just in case," a horribly familiar voice said. My eyes widened in horror and I bolted. I flashed into the far aisle furthest from the door and rested my back flat against the shelves.

"If it's valuables they're looking for they might know to check in here," Kanisawa said quietly.

"I don't know Kana, I doubt anyone would bother with a musty old place like this. Most people don't care enough about books to steal them… especially not dusty old things like these" a male voice replied coughing as he slapped dust from a book cover.

"It's not the books I'm worried about. There are a few valuable ones but there are artifacts in here too, if you know what you're looking for."

They headed right up the central aisle and I let out the breath I had been holding, they hadn't noticed me. I tiptoed around the corner towards the door and like a complete idiot, tripped over on the corner of an ornate, claw-footed table in my haste.

It made a defining scrapping sound of wood across a wooden floor that broke the silence of the library as it shifted a few inches away from the shelf it was resting against. I cursed under my breath. Kanisawa and her companion came running around the corner towards the noise, but I was already moving towards the door. I caught a glimpse of them, illuminated in the moonlight. Her male friend was tall with short dark hair and a tattoo on his face that I couldn't make out, but I didn't have time look right now.

"Hey!" Kanisawa called in anger, her hand flying to her sword.

My heart skipped a beat as my eyes flashed to the sword's hilt. Instead of the basic red hilt of an Asauchi, her sword had a bright golden colored wrap around the hilt and white-gold colored metal guard and pure white sheath.

That was no Asauchi. Kanisawa had her own awaken Zanpakuto, and the look in her pale brown eyes told me she was fully prepared to use it. I didn't bother to check the boy's sword. I didn't want to know how deep in the shit I was at that moment.

In sudden desperation to distract them and buy myself a few more seconds, I picked up a heavy tome from the reception desk and with a burst of energy to my arms throw it in their direction. It hit the shelf they were standing next to the two of them frozen to stare at the bookcase in horror and I took the moment to escape.

I flash stepped down the corridor towards foyer like my life depended on it, and it probably did. Moments later the crash of the bookcase toppling made the building shake and I winced. I hadn't meant to do that much damage, but at least I wasn't going to be caught by my own Head Girl and flayed alive.

I managed to get away just as the other patrols responded to the noise inside the building. The canister was still going some only a few guards broke away from the group to investigate but It was enough for me to slip by unnoticed. They were slow and I was long gone by the time they entered the building.

I headed home, sticking to the shadows again but running without stopping to take a breath.

I slipped into my room through my balcony and ripped the curtains closed behind me.

I slumped into my desk chair, my heart pounding with a mixture of fear, adrenaline, and excitement. I had been clutching the black beads so tightly they had indented marks into my hand. I dropped them onto the desk and gave a sigh of laughter. I felt numb and fuzzy, like I the magnitude of what I had just done wasn't making much sense to me.

I turned the beads over in my palm and stared at the silver S under my desk lamp.

I had done it. THIS was why I wanted to join the Stealth Club. This sort of freedom that made me feel alive. The risk of being caught was terrifying, the prospect of being expelled for being caught unthinkable, but the reward of becoming part of an elite, secretive club was worth every moment. This sort of challenge was what was missing from my life and longed to go out and do it again.

But right now, I needed to try and rest if my heart would stop pounding and my brain would quiet down for long enough to close my eyes.


	28. Sparring Sessions

**_Chapter 29 – Sparring Sessions_**

That night was my second sleepless night in a row and when my alarm rang out in the morning, yes, I actually remembered to set the damn thing, I felt like death warmed over.

Without thinking about it I left my room looking like a zombie and was welcome by two concerned looking roommates.

"Whose grave did you sleep in last night?" Momo asked as she tied her hair into her tiny low pigtails in the mirror.

"Did you have nightmares again? You look rough…" Rukia commented looking me over as she flicked through her history textbook.

"No, not this time," I said, then it dawned on me that I had no excuse for being so exhausted. I couldn't tell them I'd been out on a late-night excursion with Zanpakuto wielding officers chasing me as if I was a convicted murderer on the loose. "I just haven't caught up on the sleep I missed the night before, that's all" I rushed trying to cover my tracks and hoping they hadn't spotted my hesitation.

"I'm surprised really, you were dead to the world last night, you slept through all the drama!" Momo said dramatically.

My stomach dropped. "Drama? What drama?" I asked, playing dumb as I ducked back into my room to retrieve my toothbrush so they couldn't see my expression.

Rukia laughed. "Wow, you really didn't hear it? There were intruders last night. Rumour is that they were looking for treasure to steal"

I genuinely snorted in surprise. "Treasure? In a place like this? That's wishful thinking"

"That's what I said!" Rukia agreed.

"It seems true though. Everyone is saying the same thing, the intruders broke into the Dojos and the Library apparently" Momo elaborated. "While it was happening there was a lot of noise outside, so a group of us that couldn't sleep went downstairs to the study lounge."

"What she means is, she was terrified and she needed emotional support to make it through the night." Rukia clarified dryly, receiving an indignant whack to the arm.

"It's not like that!" Momo spluttered. "I just wanted to know what was happening. We were going to wake you up Kimi, but you didn't respond when we knocked on your door, so we figured you were sparked out and we left you to catch up on some sleep"

At this, I ducked into the bathroom and slid the door shut behind me. I couldn't let them see my concern.

I had been so close to being found out and now I felt oddly thankful for the nightmare that had brought me some time by allowing me to go undisturbed.

It was true that my speed made It unlikely that I would be caught while outside as long as I watched where I put my clumsy feet, so I didn't have much to worry about there, but I had barely taken a moment to consider precautionary measures for my absence being discovered. I would have to be more careful next time.

Once I was finished we headed to homeroom where there was still no sign of Renji and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Rukia. She must have been really worried for him and I half expected her to make a detour to the Medical wing before our first Hoho class out on the fields, but she resisted.

The Hoho training grounds were on the far side of campus with a fairly large orange colored running track with white painted lines marking each runner's lane. It circled around a green that contained a large grass pitch with various running hurdles and obstacles set up in a prearranged sequence.

Just past that was what looked like a larger wooden obstacle course made up of tall structures, balancing poles and something that looked like an assault course that branched off into the woods beside the tracks.

"All right, this looks like my kind of class!" I said enthusiastically as I dropped my bag down on the grass, leaped up onto a balance beam and lowered myself to sit on the bar.

"How do you do that?" Momo asked in awe.

"Do what? Jump high? You'll find out in this class" I said lazily, leaning back and stretching my legs out.

Finally, something that I knew I was good at. There was no way in hell that I could have been doing this kind of training wrong my whole life. It was easy to pick up bad habits on things that had a particular and strict set of rules, like Kendo; But moving your legs while pushing your spirit energy outwards was something that even idiots like Renji couldn't get wrong.

A crowd began to gather on the green shortly before the coach arrived but there was more than enough time for me to eavesdrop on conversations. Naturally, there was only one topic of discussion.

According to the gossip, last night's incident was executed by a group of new students who intended to steal some of the academy's valuables, like the swords hanging up in the Weapons Dojo, which is where two of the perpetrators had been arrested and taken into custody. That info definitely sounded legit based on how many people I saw heading in that direction. I was right to think that going to the most popular location would be dangerous.

There was even more talk of half the library being destroyed in an explosion, and it pained me to know the truth but have to bite my tongue and not correct people.

Those without first-hand experience of the events had heard rumors of individual events, like the smoke grenade and the library break-in, and combined them into a fantastic exaggerated tales of crime and armed combat.

Apparently, the thief had entered the library, detonated a bomb, knocked down all of the shelves and gotten away from twenty full-fledged, armed to the teeth Soul Reapers with a bag full of souvenirs. The longer I listened the more the story evolved. Suddenly the culprit wasn't a student but a rogue Soul Reaper, and later people swore "He" had used his Shikai on the officers who had attempted to detain "Him".

I wanted to laugh that I was being viewed as some sort of ninja criminal mastermind who had access to Shikai. I wished that was true.

But then the memory of Kanisawa spotting me, and the glint of light on that beautiful golden sword washed into my mind and I realized how close I had actually come to getting into serious trouble, one way or another.

I wondered how my fellow Stealth Club members felt, if they were feeling the pressure or guilt of being in on the action, or if anyone else had even found their tokens. For all I knew, I may have been the only one to find them or there may have been more people apprehended; and if they had found their token's and had actually listened to our mysterious Leader Lady's warnings, I would never get to see their faces again to know who had succeeded. We would always be anonymous to each other.

I started to feel a little paranoid. I came to the realization that any of the people around me could also be in on it. Anyone could be a member, anyone could be the damn leader because she sure as hell didn't give anything about herself away.

Then one of my old insecurities came flooding back to me. A long time ago while I was sneaking out to watch a meteor shower at night I caught a glimpse of my moonlit eyes in a window reflection and cursed them for being such an odd, luminous color. They made me stand out from the crowd when all I wanted to do was go unnoticed.

I had a sudden vision of Kanisawa marching up to me and telling me I had the same colored eyes as the thief from the library and arresting me on the spot.

There was a sharp pain in my finger as I pressed down on the beaded bracelet too hard. I had nervously been running it through my fingers, running over the emblazed S at the center of the largest bead. I shook the preposterous thoughts out of my mind and leaped down from my perch to join the rest of the crowd as the coach arrived. As long as I kept my head down and my mouth shut there was no way in hell that I would be suspected.

I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up about this being a good class. It was only the first lesson and the majority of the class knew next to nothing about any form of Hoho, or how to use their energy to enhance their footwork, so the coach started us with baby basics.

He had the class literally jumping through hoops and over hurdles until they could do it without tripping over, without touching the sides and eventually with the ease of a small flash step once they started adding their spirit energy to their jumps.

But these weren't just any standard, waist-high obstacles; They were all ranging in height, distance from the ground and width so they weren't easy to get through and some of the hurdles were shoulder height.

Momo and Rukia struggled with them for most of the lesson, but for me, it was like being a kid playing in my courtyard again. I cleared the first set of hurdles after one or two attempts and moved on to the next set until I reached the final and tallest set.

I sat on the top of the tallest ring shouting out tips and suggestions to Momo and Rukia but they didn't really understand. It was frustrating to not just be able to show them my way of learning.

I got bored quickly and used some spare hurdles to make myself a fun little obstacle course to test if I could jump these things while I was going fast with only a moment to judge the jump.

The coach saw me dragging away one of the largest hoops that no one was using like a pack rat taking something to its stash and he blew his whistle at me.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked sternly.

"I- I made my own-" I stuttered, pointing a thumb dumbly over my should to my makeshift obstacle course and feeling like a misbehaving child under his disapproving gaze.

"Don't you think you should clear the basics before challenging yourself like that? Get back with the group and carry on-"

"I can already do all of this!" I argued with slight frustration. Why was he finding it hard to believe that a first year might actually know this sort of stuff already? "I want to do something harder than basic hurdles, they're too easy for me"

He raised an eyebrow. "Alright. Show me what you can do and I'll let you use the towers." He said with a tone clearly suggested he didn't think I could clear the first hurdle, never mind the whole set.

Within two seconds I flashed through Rukia's and Momo's entire set like a gust of wind without touching the sides of the equipment.

"I can already do this! Please just let me run the track or something, I want to go faster than this!" I said slightly desperately, my boredom getting the better of me.

He peered down at me thoughtfully. For a moment I was tempted to turn on the waterworks as I'd done with my Sister many times but I had a feeling that trick wouldn't work here.

"How far can you flash step?" He asked.

In answer I flashed to the top of the nearest tower structure that I assumed was used for this exact type of training. "I can go here," and just to push my point further I jumped to the taller one next to it. Then I flashed back to balance at the top of the tallest ring above him. "Or here" and again over to a tree branch above the start of the forest obstacle course. "Or over here! Iv been doing this for a long time, Sir" I called over to him. Some of the class including my roommates had stopped to watch and were spinning around as I jumped trying to keep track of me.

The coach gave a thoughtful hum, stroking his goatee as if he had an idea.

A voice carried on the wind the direction of the school.

"Show off!" Renji called swaggering towards us in a clean uniform with a scraggy white scrap of cloth tied around his forehead like a bandana.

I grinned at the challenge. He wanted to see showing off? No problem. I flash stepped over to him and jumped up to yank his bandana down over his eyes, then flashed behind him and tied it in a double knot so I could watch him struggled to untie it. "Welcome back, Toasty!" I said in my fake sweet voice. "Did the nurse grow your eyebrows back too?"

"Shut up, you little snot! If you've ripped this you owe me a new bandana" he grumbled through the tight cloth over his face, tugging to loosen it. Rukia and Momo were actually laughing at me and I grinned.

"Quit your whining. We're even now, Pineapple head. The score Is 1-1" I heard him say something muffled but ignored him and turned to the coach. "So? Am I good enough? Can I do something more challenging now?" I asked eagerly.

"Without a doubt. But instead of going off to do your own thing I would rather have you helping your classmates. The sooner we get them up to standard the sooner you can move on. Plus, you'll then have some healthy competition "

I wanted to groan in frustration, but Rukia and Momo were looking excited at the idea so I bit my tongue and agreed. The prospect of having someone else at my own level to competitive was appealing. "I'll have them at my level in no time, I promise!"

"Good, come and see me before the end of class Miss…" he trailed off having not caught my name.

I smiled, knowing that this time the teacher wasn't asking for my name for a bad reason. "Murasaki, Sir, Kimiko Murasaki," I said brimming with confidence.

I took the three of them aside and after Rukia fussed over Renji in the same way my Sister probably would over me, I showed them the way I learned. First I showed them how to send their energy to particular parts of their body's; Hands, feet, tippy-toes, heel, as and when they're needed. Then I made them rest one foot on the flat side of the lowest hurdle while channeling the energy. I had them remove their other foot from the ground until the foot on the hurdle had a strong enough energy grip to stabilize them, then I had them send half of their energy to the other foot until they could balance flat on the vertical surface unaided. Exactly the same I had once done by accident back at the Murasaki Manor.

It took a while, but after a few soar butts and bumped heads they got the hang of it. Renji seemed to pick it up easily, though he pretended not to paying attention to my little crash course and conveniently got better at it once I had finished showing the girls the basics. I ignored him though. He could thank me later after he quit being a jerk.

"So, now you know how to direct your energy. Remember that you can do this in any circumstance. If you want a stronger punch or kick, if you want to jump high- just push your energy to the right place at the right time and it will happen. It'll become second nature soon"

"So, if we want to flash step we just push the energy to our feet?" Momo asked as she pushed away from the hoop pole she had been standing on.

"Yeah, but in a bigger burst so you're faster and go further. It's hard to explain… I recommend you do it while running, that's how I did my first one. It's easier if you're already going fast."

They tried it and they had the exact same reaction as I did after my first jump. Slight nausea and disorientation. Rukia had to hold on to Renji's arm as she landed from her first flash step even though it was only a short distance of a few meters.

"Good job, see it's not hard at all!"

"Speak for yourself" Rukia muttered looking a bit queasy.

"How did you learn all of this?!" Momo demanded, bouncing from one side of a small hurdle to the other without a pause by landing on her toes and immediately launching off again.

I shrugged. "Mostly by accident, but I once met a Soul Reaper who told me where to start and I made sure I could run fast so I could beat him in a race if we ever met again, but we never did," I said sadly.

"I'm sure you'd be able to beat him now, easily!"

Just then the coach blew the whistle and told us to start cleaning up the equipment before heading to lunch. After helping to arrange the hurdles at the center of the green I wandered over to him.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"I do. Murasaki, have you thought about joining the Track Team?"

I blinked. Was he inviting me? "Yeah, I was gonna hand in my application form at homeroom later"

"Don't bother, try-outs are tomorrow night after dinner. Just bring your application directly to me. I think you need an outlet for all that energy. You clearly don't have much opportunity to burn it off and you're a natural at this. I want to see if you can keep up with the seniors. If you can, you'll have a place on my team.

The butterflies in my stomach did a barrel roll and I stared at him in disbelief. "You really think I'm good enough for that? To compete like that?"

"I haven't seen the first year as advanced as you in many years. I have faith. See you tomorrow at Six."

The coach wandered off to help with the clean-up and I stood there feeling confused. "I just wanted to run… I can't beat the seniors, they have years on me!"

"Didn't you say you have practiced all of your life?" Momo asked as we walked back towards the main campus.

"Well, yeah, but…" I started hesitantly.

"Then that means you have years on them, most likely. Most of them have only been learning for the years they have been here, so six at most" she pointed out.

"That might be true…"

Rukia snorted. "Have some confidence in yourself already, you can nail it!"

"Just don't trip over your laces and fall flat on your face in the middle of the track" Renji suggested.

"As if I'd be stupid enough to give myself tarmac burn. Don't worry Renji, I won't steal that eyebrowless fashion trend you're trying to start."

He made a swipe at me and I ducked out of his way. "You little squirt!"

"Come get me then!" I laughed dodging backward on the tips of my toes in that light-footed way I did back in the exams.

Renji made a visible effort to flash step for me but the jump was weak due to him not being in a run when he attempted it like at practice.

I blew a raspberry at him. "Come on! Do a real flash step, put more power into it!" And he did. He actually flashed to stand beside me, grabbed me by the legs and lifted me into the air. Suddenly being hoisted ten feet into the air startled me into giving a totally uncharacteristic girly squeal of surprise.

"Did she say 'Kya?'" Rukia asked biting her lip to stop herself from laughing. Momo and Renji didn't bother trying to stop themselves.

"No, I didn't!" I lied turning bright red. "Put me down!"

"2-1?" Renji asked.

"Hell no!"

He threw me into the air and caught me by my ankles and I squealed again.

"All right! 2-1, you win! I give!" I blurted out, desperate to get back to the ground before he could drop me on my head. He grinned and let me down.

I took a moment to straighten my uniform then turned to him. "But that was only round two! The last one to the next class is on waitress duty for dinner tonight!" I declared before heading out at a sprint and the three of them sped up the catch up with me.

"Guys can't be waitresses! Wait, are you calling me a girl?!" Renji called after me but I was already gone.

"Yeah, she definitely needs an energy outlet" Rukia agreed with a groan as they picked up speed to catch up with me.

I would never admit it aloud but having Renji back alleviated some of that awkward tension between Rukia, Momo and I that had been caused by our excessive rivalry. It felt like things had been… wrong while he was gone, but I only noticed it once he returned. It was like a missing piece of the puzzle had been found.

The next lesson was an incredibly exciting Theory class on how to fill out paperwork reports on World of the Living duties, like Hollow hunts and successful or unsuccessful exterminations. The time only passed quickly thanks to the four of us swapping papers and fill out fake reports about each other as if we were squad leaders giving reviews.

"Murasaki is unable to follow the most basic of instructions and instead of destroying a hollow she got confused and blew a hole through the face of a dog painted on the side of a building. Bullshit Renji! I would never do such a stupid thing!" I complained, erasing the ridiculous accusation.

"Oh yeah, cause I would totally forget to bring my sword into battle"

Rukia snorted. "Good one Kimi. Sadly, I can imagine him doing that"

"Oh yeah, make that score 2-2!" I cheered successfully, signing the number in the corner of the sheet before Renji scribbled it out again.

"Heeeyy! I don't need the Seniors to hold my hand when I walk onto the battlefield, that's mean!" Momo pouted as she read over her sheet.

"Sorry Momo, I feel bad now that I've read the good review you put about me…" Rukia grimaced. We craned over her shoulder to read the stellar A* review Momo had neatly penned on the form.

"Miss Abarai is a top-class student with the natural instincts and common sense of a high level, high ranking officer." Renji narrated. "Her ability to sense and act on danger quickly Is next to none. She is an integral part of the team. Jeez Momo, you really don't have a bad bone in your body, do you?"

She shook her head looking dishearten. Rukia took the paper, erased her original statement and began rewriting.

"And here I am, looking for any opportunity to insult Renji and _this_ is a golden one," I said starting to add an extra footnote to Renji's paper but he snatched it back.

"Oh no you don't-" I tried to snatch it back but he turned his back to shield his paper and I almost headbutted his shoulder. I pretended it never happened and turned to grab another paper from our spare stack.

"We should probably fill out a real form before Onabara ends the lesson and collects them," Rukia pointed out in a hushed whisper as he paced down the central aisle like a hawk. "There you go Momo, no more babysitting. I just gave you an A* for your Kido efforts in a hunt. Is that better?"

It must have been perfect because Onabara was very impressed with their efforts, but not so much with mine or Renji's.

I was thankful to actually get some sleep when I turned in early that night. I had taken my library books to bed with me and sworn I would finish the chapter I was on, write a letter to my Sister and then go to sleep; But since when did things ever go as I had planned?

I woke up with the dusty old book flat open on the page I had been attempting to make sense of when I conked out. But at least, judging by the suns position in the sky, the early night had reset my body clock and I had more than enough time to go for a run before freshening up.

It was hard to believe we were already on our final day of the school week and as we headed over to our first Zanjustu lesson, one that I had been looking forward to immensely, with Renji tailing behind us like a bad smell.

"So, anyone got plans for this weekend?" I asked. We had already discussed venturing out into the Seireitei with our shiny new student ID passes but we had made no concrete plans.

"I've been thinking about it and first things first. Rukia, you need new clothes. I don't have enough to share between both of us anymore, so we need a new wardrobe for you" Momo decided.

"I hope you know what to do… I've never really been shopping before…" she said uncertainly.

"Relax, it'll be fun!" Momo assured her.

"Of course it'll be fun. After we get you something to wear we need new school books before we catch something from these second-hand moth-eaten dust catchers" I said sounding profoundly snobbish and I got a disapproving look from Renji that I pointedly ignored.

"We can do that after we explore the place. We don't want to be carrying too many heavy bags around with us. We can go get some food, get the books, then head back home"

"The food is on me then!" I declared, excited by the thought of finding tasty new places to replace my regular haunts back home. "I need to restock on sugar before I go into withdrawals, I finished my stash this morning" I mumbled mournfully.

"How much food did you actually bring with you?"

"You don't want to know…"

"That explains why she's always bouncing off the walls. Please don't allow her to go near a bakery" Renji pleaded and I intentionally stopped so he walked into the back of me and almost fell forward over me flat on his face.

"Ops! Sorry, my bad. I thought my lace was undone."

"You don't have laces, you stupid-"

"Renji! Enough!" Rukia demanded. He visibly bit his lip to stop himself and looked away in the direction of the Weapons Dojo now coming in to view across the green. Other students were already entering, everyone with their swords on their backs looking eager to spar.

I was smart enough to know that would not be the case.

Once again, hopefully for the last time, the class started with baby steps. Master Dao was our teacher for this class too, as he had mentioned before, and this time we actually got to use the Dojo instead of heading into a classroom just off the hallway, but he began by making us mimic the basic swinging techniques.

It didn't last very long for me. He came around the group one by one correcting the people who were doing something wrong and sending away those of us who already knew the basics until he had a small class of beginners and a smaller class of more advanced students.

"Alright, now hold that position. Continue with that until I say you're ready to move on" he instructed to the small group that included Rukia, Momo, and Renji. "The rest of you can go ahead and begin sparring. You may use Kendo swords or your Asauchi's. Once again, the only rule we have is no fatalities. You're free to experiment but remember that this is a zone of learning. You're here to practice, not destroy each other."

"Yes Sir!" we all agreed. I looked over at my friends feeling slightly lost without them. I had never introduced myself to any of my other classmates. I felt like that kid who always gets left without a partner in sports and I ended up leaning against the wall all on my lonesome, watching the others spar for a while, too afraid to butt in and disturb total strangers.

Soon enough one of the pairing finished their brief fight and one of them broke away and headed in my direction. I recognized him from yesterday's Kido class, the tall boy with pale skin, a long face and white blonde hair who had obliterated his target with his Shakkaho. He leaned against the wall beside me to apparently catch his breath, but he didn't seem at all tired.

"Hey there, do you not have a partner?"

I glanced up at him and shook my head. "Unfortunately, not" I admitted grudgingly.

"Well, would you like to spar with me?" he asked abruptly but kindly, smiling down at me. I blinked not really knowing how to react.

"Uhhh… Yeah, if you're not busy" I said dumbly. "If you're not done with your fight please don't pause on my behalf, I don't mind watching until my turn comes"

"It's quite alright. It appears my previous partner only had the most basic of training, he got tired quickly" he explained dismissively. I thought it odd for him to assume that I would be any different. He couldn't know if I was experienced or new, we had never met.

"Oh, I see… Well in that case, sure"

"Great, do you prefer Asauchi or Kendo?"

I took a moment to think about it. I had been using Kendo swords all my life, the idea of using a sharp blade that had the potential to hurt someone genuinely scared me, but if I didn't at least try it I would never learn to use my Zanpakuto.

I pulled the drawstring on my grey shoulder bag and pulled out Ruby, leaving trusty old Onyx to sit there abandoned. "Challenge me," I demanded simply with a smirk, giving my sword an elaborate flourish as I unsheathed it and jammed its red sheath into the waistband of my red Hakama trousers.

"As you wish," he chuckled politely and I followed him to the center of the floor.

Two other pairs were sparring a few meters on either side of us and I had the sudden thought that If I got carried away I was quite likely to encroach on their turf. It's only a warm-up, not a full-on fight like the exams. You don't need the whole room… I told myself as I got into my one-handed starting stance.

This was only my second time truly wielding Ruby and again I was surprised by how heavy the sword felt. I wasn't sure how much the difference in weight and grip would alter my performance and fighting style, but there was only one way to find out.

"Ready when you are" I called to my opponent but instead of charging at like a bull blinded by rage, the guy held his two-handed grip on his Asauchi and edged towards me, not losing eye contact. I did the same with my grip still in my usual one-handed water dancer stance with the other hand clenched at the small of my back which for some reason helped me keep my balance and straight posture.

This kid was smart. He was looking for an opening, studying my movements and looking for a weakness, doing things the way they were supposed to be done. I got within my estimated sword range and I made the first move, launching for him in a burst of speed that wasn't caused by any form of flash step. I didn't intend to use those tactics until he showed that he was able to use them too. I wanted a fair playing field.

He parried my attack cleanly and our swords clashed a few more times before we backed away.

"Good job, I wasn't expecting you to see that one coming" I complimented, genuinely impressed.

"Same to you. Your style is… Unorthodox to say the least, so I'm impressed that you're able to hold out for so long"

"I prefer Unique" I smiled. "What exactly were you expecting?"

"Honestly I expected you to lose your grip on your sword. Metal is much heavier than wood so I expected your wrist to give in. The whole idea of a two-handed grip is to have a better hold on a heavier sword. If you drop it with your only hand you're done for" he pointed out.

I nodded. "There is a way around that problem if you practise enough" I said, referring to the thin layer of energy I was sending to my sword hand in an effort to keep my grip tight around the hilt, though I didn't elaborate in case he hadn't worked that technique out for himself yet; Then I made another attack, this time trying to hit his left side to see how well he could maneuverer his sword. He executed a damn near perfect downwards block, the hilt of his sword just above his head and the sword pointing downwards to catch my blow.

"Nice!" I commented appreciatively, and I jumped back again, this time with a tiny burst of energy.

"You're Murasaki, right?" He asked suddenly as if he had been wanting so say it. "I was in the same examination group as you. My fight came shortly after yours-"

"Oh really?" I asked in understanding. That explained why he had decided to challenge me before any of our other classmates. He already had an idea what to expect of me. "Small world, huh?"

"I guess so." He paused. "Wow, I feel like some kind of stalker now, I'm sorry" he laughed awkwardly before heading at me again.

Our metal clanged together again and we put energy behind the blows, trying to force each other away. "Hey, no sweat. My fight wasn't exactly the type you would forget in a hurry" I said with a strain as I pushed Ruby into his Asauchi, taking a moment to glance over to the beginner's class who, like our fellow advanced students, had paused to watch our exchange. I spotted Rukia and Momo watching intently and Renji lurking around behind them pretending he wasn't paying attention.

"That's a good way to put it. I wondered what it would be like to fight someone who is capable of holding their own for longer than a minute. You must have had an excellent teacher" he chuckled.

A fond memory of my grandmother stepping lightly with her fan outstretched to imitate a sword came swimming into my mind and I laughed aloud.

Hatsu was technically my teacher in terms of skill as well as being a willing punch bag for me to practise on, but I inherited my style from my grandmother's dance lessons. Without her I probably would have given up a long time ago. "If only you knew! I had the best teachers in the world"

Our momentum finally pushed us away from each other and the fight continued like that for a while, repeatedly striking before retreating to study each other again. As more time went on I began to enjoy the sound of clanging metal, and each strike brought a thrill of potential danger that made me feel energized and alive.

The more we engaged the more the world around us seemed to slip away. We travelled further across the room, not caring for those around us who had retreated to the edge of the room to observe from a safe distance.

I began to challenge the blonde boy more by putting more of my energy behind my attacked to see if his legs would buckle under the force. They didn't, so then I used a flash step to see how he would react. He looked surprised, but I gave him enough time to work out where I was about to attack from and he blocked it well.

"Sorry, I thought I would test to see if you were also able to flash. If it makes you uncomfortable I won't do it again" I apologized.

"No, it's quite alright. I should have expected it really. I haven't had enough practice with them just yet, I'm afraid I only know the basics" he said apologetically. He glanced around at the audience we had gathered and gave a gentle laugh. "How about we call that a draw and allow someone else to take the stage?"

"Oh right," I said self-consciously glancing around me again, taking his outstretched hand to shake. "Thank you for the fight, it really was a fun challenge- I actually broke a sweat!" I said wiping a droplet off my forehead. "Well definitely have to go again sometime- Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"Oh of course! My name is Kira Izuru, a pleasure to meet you, Miss Murasaki"

"Call me Kimiko, the pleasure is mine," I said with a wink before we parted. I headed to the doorway to get a drink from the cooler in the hallway but Renji called out to me and I stopped.

"If it's a challenge you want, come have a rematch with me" He suggested loudly from the other side of the dojo.

I rolled my eyes. "Dude, the only thing challenging about you is guessing how many times you're gonna fall over. Get real." And I turned to the door again. I really wasn't interested in Renji's low class, low-level fighting style. I needed another fight that would really keep me on my toes.

"I beat you the first time," He reminded me in overly confident tones. "I thought you wanted to prove that you're better than me?"

I stopped, feeling anger begin to boil like a kettle on a stove. "You beat me? Excuse me?" I demanded in disbelief. He really was proud of that stupid stunt back then. "You call those cheap and dirty tricks a win? I could beat you blindfolded with a tree branch as a weapon, and you know it!"

"Prove it then" he demanded with a sneer on his face.

"Fine, but if you play dirty I will too and you're not gonna like it, got it?"

He didn't respond, only unsheathed his sword from the grey bag on his back. A concerning thought occurred to me, accompanied by a pang of fear. He was also using a metal blade. If he did use dirty tricks like last time I would be a goner. An idiot like this wasn't going to heed a warning from the teacher, let alone have enough common sense to take caution with a deadly weapon. He was all about rough fighting with no care for consequences.

"You know I've been training since we last fought, right?"

"For your sake, I hope so. If there's no improvement you're damned to eternal uselessness." I snapped, and once again, proving his predictability he charged right at me. I could only hope that I was wrong, and he had used my match with Kira to the study my moves, or he remembered from our first encounter.

He used the same old moves as before but his time I didn't take my eyes off his blade. I was still fast enough to foresee his strikes and dodge quickly enough.

"Do you mind? I think we all want to keep our heads attached to our shoulders"

"Quit your yapping and put some effort into it already" he snapped.

"You want effort? From me?" I asked flash stepping behind him and twirled into a momentous swing that was aimed for his back. Surprisingly he did a flash step of his own and dodged it.

"Ooohh" I sang, impressed. "There is some small sign of improvement, thanks to my little tutoring session yesterday of course"

"I didn't need your help, it's not hard to direct your spirit energy. At least mine doesn't leak all over the place, I can feel yours from all over here"

The jab stung me, and my temper crept yet closer to boiling point. "At least I've got enough spiritual energy to leak. If yours leaked, you'd be flat as a pancake in ten seconds. Now shut up and show me this so-called improvement!"

We went for it. I was surprised to see signs of real improvement. His frenzied, manic fighting style was still there but he seemed faster, more balanced, his grip and arm movements were better. Overall, he felt like a determined student rather than an amateur who had been given a shiny object to throw around like the last time we fought.

"Good!" I said sincerely. "Keep it going, remember there are more points to attack than just the ribs. Try to attack other places to be less predictable" I suggested.

As if not wanting to acknowledge my suggestion he completely ignored me and continued on his usual unsuccessful rampage. Every time I spotted something that could have been improved I pointed it out to him, but I wasn't sure if he actually heard me or paid attention as he didn't directly respond.

Until finally he got a little too close for comfort when he went for an attempt at an upwards swing that was in line with my leg. "Whooooaa there! About time you didn't something different, I was getting bored of seeing the same moves" I said as I did my annoying little jumping trick, dancing just out of his reach.

He scowled at me. "Hold still dammit!"

"What, you think an enemy would stand still and let you have a free hit?" I asked incredulously. "That's not how it works, and besides this is only a sparring session and you're clearly going for the kill. I'm not letting you within six feet of me until you start playing nicely."

He gave an angry tsk. "So, what? I fight too hard so you're just gonna get scared and run away?"

I shrugged. "That's your opinion, but honestly I find you tiring. Come for another rematch in a couple of months when you've learned to do more than just hold your sword properly and I might actually be scared of you" I said dismissively.

It was only later on that it occurred to me how rude and disrespectful I may have come across, even though that wasn't my intention.

I twirled Ruby and slotted her back into the sheath that was still secured to my waist and stretched my arms and shoulders, making it clear that I was done.

I turned away from him and called over to Rukia and Momo who were still among the other beginers at the front of the Dojo. They were facing our direction, apparently watching the advanced matches while they practised the basics.

Rukia had an odd look on her face, as if she was analyzing me but I thought nothing of it.

"Hey! You guys wanna grab a drink? I'm dying over here-" I called to them, hoping to spend five minutes with them to hear their thoughts about my fight with Kira.

"Coming!" Momo called and Rukia began to follow her.

Suddenly their eyes widened. Momo made took a step forward with a loud gasp as if to try to reach me from across the room and Rukia shouted: "Wait, no... RENJI, DONT!" Reaching out for me too, but there was nothing they could do from that distance.

For a moment I blinked, confused. Then my brain clicked. I whirled around to see Renji above me with his arms raised high, his sword descending into a downward swing.

My world froze. It was like everything went into slow motion. Light glinted off the blade that was less than a meter away from my face and my vision swam with the similar 'memory' of Aizen's attack. I shook it out of my brain before I could black out, now was not the time to zone out if I wanted to live. I went to bring my sword up to my head to counter the swing, but too late I realized I had sheathed Ruby after our fight.

I held out my hand, clamped my eyes shut and gritted my teeth as I braced for an inevitable impact.

A/N:

Thanks to anyone who is actually still reading this :D I did try to upload this once already but I'm on holiday in Spain for my 24th and I didn't know google docs CopyPaste doesn't work here so I had to wait to download a better writing app on the crappy Wi-fi :(

Bare with me while I get the fluff of the academy out the way. They will act like typical school kids for a while but I do promise action too.

Feel free to let me know what you think in a review, and if you spot any mistakes in grammar or wording let me know cuz i tend to miss most of them.

Just to let you know, I do have up to the post academy graduate writting in draft/note form, then I need to write a bit more, and then I have Rukia's rescue to the begining of the Bount Arc in draft too, I just have to get it all fleshed out and digitized. So updates should be fairly regular :)


	29. Bloodflow

**Chapter 29 – Bloodflow**

At the last possible moment, I forced a wave of energy to my palm visualizing it as a shimmering protective white coating. Despite the attempt at shield myself like so many times before. I felt the searing sharp pain as Renji's blade buried itself into my flesh and a combination of the brute force from blew and the intense pain made my knees buckle.

I fell to the floor with a scream, still holding the blade in place above my head.

"Kimi!"

"Murasaki!"

I heard voices calling for me but they sounded distant as if they were the other end of a tunnel. I forced my eyes open and Renji's face swam unsteadily before me. He stood motionless, staring down at me with an odd look on his face as if he was waking up a dream. Was that shock I saw? Or fear? The horror on his face spread as he watched a stream of scarlet trickle from my palm, winding down my arm like a snake.

"You idiot..." I croaked. "If I hadn't sheathed my sword I'd have killed you in self-defence..."

He shook his head, as if not wanting to understand what was happening and yanked his sword away from me.

I screamed again and curled into a ball on the floor, squeezing my hand tight to try and force the pain away.

Momo and Rukia finally reached me and kneeled at my side.

"Kimi! Are you okay? How bad is it, let me see" Momo demanded, try to prize my own hand from my grasp. "Holy..." I heard her mutter, but at the sight of a large splutter of blood my vision slipped out of focus again. I felt faint and slightly nauseous.

"Renji... Why?!" Rukia demanded, glaring up at him from my other shoulder, her voice going from a calm anger to a demanding shout.

"I just..." he started.

"Just what?! Just wanted to put her in the hospital?! Just wanted to kill her!? Huh?!"

"Hey, I'm not the one you should be starting on!"

"Oh really!-" she said releasing my shoulder and standing up to face off with her brother, getting right up in his face on her tiptoes.

If I wasn't in so much pain I would have laughed at how tiny she was compared to him.

"She started it!" Renji argued, towering over her and jabbing a finger down at me. Rukia looked like a volcano that was on the verge of erupting. I had never seen her angry before and it surprised me. She always seemed so calm and soft-spoken.

"Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size-" came another familiar voice and in a split instant the class descended into chaos.

Like a gust of wind, Renji whirled around and planted a solid right hook into Izuru's nose before his hand even touched Renji's shoulder.

Izuru literally flew across the room and landed roughly in a heap a few feet away. A handful of other classmates jumped Renji to stop him from going after Izuru, trying to hold him down with their combined weight, but it was like trying to restrain a bull. They writhed around like a pack of wolves trying to fight a lion.

"Please... Stop... Don't fight because of me..." I mumbled, barely able to muster a breath. No one heard me and the scuffle continued.

"STOP IT." Came a thunderous commanding boom from the front of the room and the boys on Renji's back, all smaller than him, fell off like discarded dolls.

"What the devil is going on in here?! I turn my back for five minutes and you start brawling?!" Master Dao was demanding as he came striding into the hall. The crowd split away from Renji and revealed me, sprawled on the floor with Momo wrapped around my shoulders and a pool of blood slowly welling around my knees.

"Sir! She needs help!" Momo said, her voice shaky like she wanted to cry. It was only then that I realized that my own tears were adding to my blurry vision, refusing to cascade down my face. I blinked and the dam burst but I managed not to make a noise. Even know in such a rough state I didn't want to show weakness.

Master Dao knelt to inspect me. "She needs medical assistance immediately," Dao announced calmly after a few moments, helping Momo pull me to my feet.

We started to head towards the exit, though my legs felt numb and could barely hold myself up or see where I was going.

"You too Izuru- and You-" Dao started, pausing to turn to Renji. "You stay right here. I'll deal with you later."

* * *

I had never felt pain like what I experienced during the healing process in my life.

Master Dao escorted us to the medical centre, Momo supporting my weight and Rukia trailing behind to support Izuru. Dao instructed me to put pressure on the wound to stem the blood flow until we arrived. At the sight of Rukia and Momo the nurse looked like she was going to tell them to go home, sick of seeing them from their visits to Renji in the last few days, then she caught sight of me and Master Dao.

He began explaining the situation as she quickly cleaned all of the blood off my hands and face with foul-smelling sterilized liquid and gave me a painful shot in the arm to thicken my blood and administer a painkiller all in one.

She absentmindedly called for an assistance to fix Izuru's nose and hurried me into a private treatment room. Master Dao left after giving Rukia some vague instruction that I didn't understand.

She allowed Rukia and Momo to come in with me after they pleaded to stay at my side and she sat me down on the edge of an examination bed to started the healing process.

Burning, tingling, stabbing, throbbing agony all mixed together under one bizarre warm bubble of green light emitting from the woman's hands. I would have found it fascinating to watch and would have wanted to learn under any other circumstances.

I wasn't sure how long I was there and I didn't know Izuru had left in only a few minutes, a broken nose much easier to fix than a deep laceration of the hand muscles, tendons and tissue.

I was too busy mutedly screaming into my collar as I chomped down on it, my eyes clamped shut in a feeble attempt to ignore the pain.

The girls stayed with me all through the ordeal. I squeeze Rukia's hand with my good hand the whole time and Momo, feeling helpless and restless, took to pulling my hair back out of my face and brushing it with her fingers. Their support was comforting, I probably would have fallen asleep from having my hair stroked with if I wasn't screaming in agony. It made me think of home when my sister helped care for me when I caught the flu in the winter. Safe and soothing.

After thirty minutes that felt like thirty hours, the nurse released her spiritual energy and I finally unclenched my eyes and dared to take a fleeting look.

The deep gash was gone but the muted pain lingered, accompanied by a clean but ugly scar.

"It's going to continue hurting for a while, but the main damage has been repaired. It would take me much longer to fully repair it, but I can't do it in one session and it's best for your body to finish off the healing naturally." She said as she gently wiped away the leftover dried blood and tightly winding a bandage around my whole arm.

The sight of the scar made my stomach do sickly barrel rolls. Every time I looked down from now on I would have to see that mess and be reminded of this awful day.

"If you have any major issues or somehow reopen the wound, come and see me. For now, I will be giving you lots of painkillers and an absence note to keep out of all hand-requiring exercises in your classes."

I groaned. This was going to set me back big time, but I knew I wouldn't be able to touch anything with this hand just yet. It felt numb but I wasn't sure if it was healed or just the painkillers taking effect.

"This sucks." I cursed moodily tearing my eyes away from my hand.

"I know, but it's unavoidable. Lots of rest for you young lady. Let's hope I don't have to see any of you again. If you come back having overexerted yourself I will not go easy on the healing next time. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for your help..." I said weakly, feeling like I wanted to cry again, but not from the pain.

Rukia and Momo took an arm each and steering me out of the treatment room like they were scared I might collapse, and I felt tired and weak enough for that to happen.

I picked up my prescription on the way out and we headed steadily towards the dorm. I had no intention of going anywhere else today, not with my arm in a sling.

"I'm sorry Kimi," Rukia sighed miserably. "Honestly I don't know what's wrong with him. He's really not a bad person"

"Of course not, he just has a habit of attacking people while their backs are turned." I snapped resentfully.

"Please don't be mad at him! It was a mistake and I know he will never do it again"

I couldn't muster up enough of my usual bravado to argue. "He literally scarred me for life Rukia... how am I supposed to forgive that?" Is all I could quietly manage.

She didn't answer, and I sighed. "I suppose I am a little hard on him... I was trying to help but I think he thought I was insulting him... I didn't mean it like that but maybe I deserved it. I haven't exactly been nice to him either..."

Rukia seemed surprised at the admission.

"I think you're right. You need to go about it differently. If the two of you can forgive each other I'm sure you can be friends" Momo said brightly. always the positive ready of sunshine gleaming through the darkness.

"My stubborn side is telling me not to, but I'll try... Just once more." I said slightly hesitantly. "I'm not a forgiving person by nature and right now all I want to do is sleep "

Then it hit me.

"Shit! The try-outs! What am I gonna do?! I can't miss them"

"You don't have to touch anything, you'll be fine as long as you don't faint on the track," Rukia said dismissively.

"No, but my hands move at my sides as I run and this thing isn't exactly aerodynamic..." I said wiggling my slinged arm around to demonstrate.

"Oh... right..."

"Just try it. You never know, the coach has seen how good you are so he might just let you in, or if not he may let you try again when you're healed"

I cursed loudly "I doubt he would hold the try-outs again just for my benefit. And I've applied for the music club auditions too but how am I supposed to hold an instrument..."

"Under the circumstances, the academy would have to give you another opportunity to try out due to injury, you have to belong to at least one club and it's not your fault if you can't right now."

Technically I already was part of a club but unfortunately, it was illegal and unregistered, so it didn't count. I was about to mention it but I quickly caught myself. I had a sudden vision of the academy kicking me out for failing on all applications and being part of an illegal organization, but I knew that was unlikely. They treated clubs with importance but that wouldn't be important enough to exclude someone, surely.

Just then a crowd of students came rushing past us whispering excitedly.

"Where are they going?"

"I don't know... shall we check it out?" Momo asked looking at me with concern. I was tired but I was also curious, so we followed.

* * *

 ***Renji's POV***

Once I came to my senses I couldn't bear to be in that dojo for a moment longer.

Ignoring Master Dao's instruction to wait for him I stormed out, coming down from the intense rage that had taken over my actions but still fuelled by anger and adrenaline.

I walked to bleed off some of my pent-up frustration, not caring that I had disobeyed a direct order and would probably suffer a worse punishment later. I only wanted to keep moving. Eventually, I wasn't sure how long I had been moving for or where I was going, I arrived at a small wooded area just off the beaten trail that students took as a shortcut between the north and south sides of campus.

I collapsed down against a tree trunk with a heavy sigh and leaned my head against the bark to stare up at the endlessly blue spring sky.

"Shit..." I sighed again finally coming to the realization of what I had done.

I didn't mean to hurt her, but her constant taunting and belittling remarks pushed me too far and I snapped.

The memory of the shock on her face as my sword came down flashed into my vision. Those icy blue eyes like arctic ponds of emotion that could swallow me whole. The pain that clouded those eyes as she lay bleeding on the floor.

What hurt more was that even after I had so badly injured her the first thing she thought about was my safety and what would have happened to me, not herself.

"If I hadn't have put my sword I'd have killed you in self-defence."

That wasn't a threat, that was her telling me to count myself lucky. That was probably her imagining having my blood on her hands because of my reckless actions. At a time like that, how could she possible of thought of my safety before her own?!

But the worst part was Rukia's reaction. The fear and hatred in her eyes as she saw her injured friend… And I had never once seen her that angry before.

When she got in my face, for a moment I felt like pushing her away and I was disgusted with myself at the thought of harming my own sister. The one I had spent the most of my life caring for and protecting.

I spat a coppery taste of blood out of my mouth as I bit too hard on my lip.

I never wanted to see either of those expressions again.

Just when I thought that Murasaki and I might be able to settle our differences... Just when we had started to be friendly with each other... No matter how annoying she could be she never deserved to be hurt like that, but for me to hurt her twice...

"You complete idiot!" I hissed hammering the side of my fist against the soil.

I knew neither of them, Rukia or Murasaki, would ever forgive me for this and who could blame them really.

At that moment I felt about as low as I could get. The best I could hope for was that they would give me a lenient punishment, like removing me from the advanced class instead of outright excluding me, that way they wouldn't have to suffer my aggression again.

My senses were alerted to a twig cracking behind me and I turned, expecting a fight.

"Oh... It's just you" I said not bothering to hide the disappointment in my voice as the blonde kid I punched in the face earlier walked through the brush behind me.

"Sorry to disturb you" he started hesitantly.

"Let me guess: Dao sent you to find new and drag me back to the dojo for detention or something"

He blinked. "No, not at all. I've come to apologize to you for earlier" he said brushing the twigs and leaves off his pristinely clean uniform. "Besides, I was too busy getting my nose fixed for Dao to send me on errands." he laughed awkwardly. I could tell he was trying to make light of the situation to ease the tension in the air.

"Yeah... Sorry about that." I said looking away.

"No, it's me who should apologize. It was disrespectful for me to get involved in another man's fight." He said with a little nod off a bow. "Perhaps we should start over. Hi there, I'm Kira Izuru" and to my bewilderment, he held his hand out.

I starred at it like it was an alien artifact for a moment, then I snorted and looked away. "Oh, so you're all into that code of honor and manners bullshit too? I can tell which side of town you're from."

He took his hand back but not in a way that suggested he was offended and leaned back against the tree to look at the sky too. "I take it you're not from the good side of town?"

"You could say that. Handshakes and sportsmanship aren't exactly my thing."

"I can tell," he said. "It's easy to tell that sort of thing by the way a person fights. I could tell Murasaki was highborn immediately"

My stomach dropped at the mention of her name.

"Yeah, well Murasaki always acts high and mighty" I spat, trying to ignore that image of her pained icy gaze that had imprinted itself on the inside of my eyeballs.

"Aw don't take it like that. She was only trying to help"

"By taunting me to no end? I doubt that. "

"I'm going to assume the two of you don't usually get along?"

"Like a cat and dog. She does nothing but tease, taught and patronize my every move and it pisses me off."

"I'm not going to judge you for what happened back in the exams-" he started, and I looked up in surprise. "I was there." He confirmed at my look. "But I don't doubt that you've had to settle differences... Whatever she has done to upset you since then, I can assure you was not her intention during that match. Perhaps a little bit of healthy trash-talk to start it off but after that, the things she said about your technique were right in the mark. She was pointing out your faults so you could improve on them, not trying to belittle you"

I didn't reply. I didn't know how to reply. I didn't want to admit it.

Coming to terms with the fact that what I did during the exam was considered to be lowest of the low and cowardly, and that I probably deserved her hatred was hard, but admitting I had overreacted to something that turned out to be just as pure and innocent intentions was worse, and it had happened twice. Twice she had tried to help me, twice I had retaliated with a physical out lash. Her naturally kind heart didn't deserve that.

Seeing her and Izuru having so much fun in the match rattled me and I couldn't understand why until now.

I knew I was stronger than Izuru, but Murasaki's "Well if you insist, let's get this over with" attitude, as if I was an insistent child infuriated me more and I went into a downward spiral of anger from there.

Now I understood. Maybe I was a little bit jealous. I wanted to have that kind of level playing field that the two of them had, I wanted Murasaki to take me seriously and put in all her effort like she did for Izuru. I considered Murasaki to be my rival in some way, but she had never shown me the same courtesy as Izuru.

"Maybe I was a little excessive," I admitted bluntly, not wanted to let him know how much the subject bothered me. How much I wished I could turn back time and start over. Take my defeat like a man and get on with my life.

Izuru seemed to observe me. "Forgive me for acting like your personal shrink. No doubt the advice is not welcome but do with it what you will: You are here to learn how to protect living souls and spirits that you don't know and will likely never meet, from monsters that mean them nothing but harm and destruction; but how are you to do that if you can't even protect the people closest to you, the people who mean you nothing but support and friendship?"

"I-I don't" I began to stutter, intending to argue that I could protect people important to me. I had protected Rukia and our friends back home for as long as I could remember, but clearly, I was losing my touch else I wouldn't be in this situation. "Remember the difference between an enemy in a fight to the death and a comrade in a sparring session. Once you learn how to tone it down you're good to go."

I started at him not sure how to react. He was right. That was the root of my problem.

"I never understood why people take it easy on each other when training. How are we to improve if we're not using our full potential?"

"How are you to train if they're all dead by your hand?" He smiled answering my question with an even more logical question.

Just then a group of students came running along the path excitedly as if they were going somewhere.

"What's going on?" I asked curiously, making a move in the direction but Izuru put a hand on my shoulder.

"Remember, I'm around if you need someone to remind you who is a friend or foe. Don't take it out on Murasaki. She's a tough cookie but she's not that tough."

I smiled and nodded. "Thanks, man"

* * *

 _ ***Kimi's POV***_

The group led us the to the main academy entrance yard where a red carpet had been laid out from the road all the way up to the visitor's entrance. Hundreds of students were already lined up on either side of the red-carpet jostling for a good view of whoever was supposed to be arriving

The three of us joined the back of the crowd but none of us were gifted with long legs.

"What's happening? Is someone coming?" Momo asked numerous times jumping up and down to try and get a glimpse over people's shoulders.

"Can't you flash step on top of the walls and tell us what you see?"

"Do I look like I have enough energy for that right now?" I said incredulously, looking around for an easily accessible high spot but my legs felt jelly without attempting flash steps from a standstill under pressure. "Maybe you should try, you spent all morning learning how to do it!"

"That's was like... Hours ago..." Momo whined.

"For crying out loud... Okay... Wait I've got an idea, you give me a boost and I'll tell you what's happening" I suggested.

"Why do you get the boost?" Rukia asked begrudgingly.

"I can't give you a boost with my hand like this and Momo is the tallest, so you boost me and I'll stand on her shoulders." I justified reasonably. "Now crouch down!" I said pushing her down by the head with my good hand before she could argue. "Lock your fingers, I'll stand on your hands, then you push up and I'll climb onto Momo"

"I don't like this Kimi!" Momo complained.

"It's fine it'll work!"

Just as Rukia raised me off the ground by only a couple of feet in what seemed to be all her strength, I felt a pressure around my ankles and for the second time today I was hoisted high into the air.

I squealed in surprise and look down to find Renji grimacing up at me.

"Thanks for the lift," I smiled awkwardly

"Don't mention it..." He mumbled looking away.

"Can you see anything!?" Momo asked excitedly, not taking notice of our awkward greeting.

"Nah. Just students, tons of them. Looks like there's fight over to the west... Some guy pushed to the front. Oh, and that girl has a cute bow in her hair, I should ask where she got it..." I added thoughtfully, distracted by the glitter.

"Kimi!"

"All right all right! I don't see anything..."

"Maybe they're not due to arrive yet?" Izuru asked and I turned to look down at him, not having noticed him there.

"Oh hey there, how's your nose?"

"Good as new, thank you. And your hand?"

"Never better," I said sarcastically with a feeble wave from the top of the sling, feeling like a stubby armed dinosaur.

"Oh wait, something's happening! A carriage just arrived, Soul Reapers are getting out... Wow, why so many... They're lining up, Oh a white Captain's cloak? It's-! Oh..." Then the sight of him made my stomach do another unwelcome backflip and I ceased my live commentary.

"Never mind. False alarm folks, the party's over" I said tapping Renji on the shoulder for him to lower me down.

As he did I turned into his chest and whispered into his ear, using the fuss that Momo was making as a distraction: "I'm sorry. It won't happen again, I promise."

"Me too..." he said just loud enough for me to hear and I smiled. "Sorry about your hand. I hope it heals fast."

"I hope so, I need to get revenge" I grinned. "What's the score? 2-2? Can't let you win can I?" And he laughed.

"Do you ever give up, Murasaki?"

"Heeey! Don't ignore me, Renji. I wanna see!" Momo demanded bringing us back to our surroundings when he began bunny hopping in his face to get his attention...

"Do I look like a human climbing frame to you?!"

"Oh fine! I'll go and look for myself!" She pouted pushing her way past him into the crowd, using her size to squeeze past people without much fuss.

"Momo! Come back you're gonna get squished!" Rukia called but she had already been swallowed by the crowd.

"Let me guess, Aizen?" Rukia asked with the same amount of enthusiasm as one would have for a dead cockroach.

"Bingo. I'm gonna sit down by that tree, come and get me If you find her alive."

I wondered off and settled down at a base of a tree that lined the entrance yard. It wasn't comfortable, but I was too tired to care.

"How are you really?" Izuru asked settling down beside me and I looked up out of my daydream.

"Tired. But I'll be okay soon." I said truthfully.

"Don't overdo it, that wound was the real deal"

"It felt worse than it looked, believe me," I said giving a heavy sigh as I rested my head back against the trunk.

"I apologize for getting involved by the way. That was inconsiderate"

I scoffed. "Defending me and stopping him from going into a rampage was the least inconsiderate thing you could have done. At least you didn't turn to mush and stand around like the rest of the class. "

He smiled. "Glad I could help. I don't think we'll be having any more incidents like that again."

"If he wants to live. Next time I won't be so forgiving, school rules be damned!"

Izuru gave a hearty laugh at my serious threat.

"I'm sure he'd be terrified if he heard that." There was a comfortable silence and we watched the crowd collectively lean in for a better view of Aizen as he walked the red carpet, Rukia and Renji were still looking for Momo from the back.

"You not going to join them?"

I shook my head. "I'd rather eat my own shoe. I can't believe Momo actually joined his fan club"

"I've heard he's an excellent Captain. Maybe she wants to learn from him"

I shrugged. "I doubt it. There's a reason the majority of the club members are female. I'd much rather be doing something productive but..." I raised my slinged arm gentle and grimaced.

"What did you apply for?"

"The Track Team and the Music Club."

"Ah, I see your dilemma. Perhaps they will allow you time to heal before you try out"

"That's what Momo said but I don't know what to do. Track try-outs are tonight, so I might jog around the dorms as a test run before I go, but there's no way in hell I can't hold an instrument like this"

"Don't give up," he said strongly. "These clubs are important extracurricular activities that can show your hidden talents and could potentially bring forward interesting job offers after you graduate; but if you're injured there's not much you can do, I'm sure the administration will understand."

I frowned "Job offers? From clubs? How so?"

"Well think about it. At this academy you are tested, and your scores recorded as you progress. That scores are passed on to the Seireitei and they use them to recruit new squad members that they deem suitable for their needs. If you're on the Track Team and recruiters watch you win a few races, you may then be on the radar for a squad who require fast officers." he explained.

I blinked, and my heart leaped. He had a good point. "I never thought of it that way..."

Perhaps the same applied to the Secret Stealth Club. Perhaps if I did well there the real Stealth Force may hear about it and would accept me as a member. I wasn't sure how they would find out, but they surely had intelligence agents and recruiters who would know these things. I doubted that the "Secret" club was entirely under everyone's radar.

He smiled. "I think that's the reason they make it of such importance, so every student has a specialty or qualification by the end of school. Not every job in the Seireitei required fighting you know. We still need people to run businesses and leisure activities too. The Seireitei needs chefs and cleaners and even bar staff for the clubs."

"You're right. I suppose someone who aced the Cooking Club could open a restaurant and that sort of thing. It makes sense."

He nodded. "Have a little bit of hope. From what I've seen you're multitalented, an injury isn't the end of the world for you"

"Thank you Izuru-"

"Call me Kira, please I don't mind"

"-Kira. You're so positive and honest. Between you and Momo, you guys might be able to convert me from being a part-time pessimist." I chuckled.

Just then the crowd began to disperse signalling that my living nightmare had officially made landfall.

Rukia and Renji stayed at the back talking heatedly, probably about what had happened between us, but Renji seemed to win the discussion just as Momo re-joined them and they headed over to us.

"He's just so... Dreamy..." Momo sighed thoughtfully. "Not to mention strong and intelligent."

"Oh please, I already feel like crap, don't make me vomit all over you" I mumbled.

Rukia cut across Momo before she could berate me. "How about we get Kimi some food before she keels over?"

Just at the perfect moment, my stomach gave a growl.

"Please and thank you. Why don't you tag along Kira? You're more than welcome"

"If it's not too much trouble,"

"The more the merrier!" Renji grinned slapping him roughly on the shoulder.

* * *

A/N: Thankyou to all of the recent followers and reviewers, when I get that notification it always makes my day and motivates me! I'm so glad people are enjoying this, and I promise there is much more to come. Idk if iv said this before but I basically have two notebooks filled with everything up until the end of the Rukia Rescue arc, but I'm coming up with new ideas for the academy arc as I digitize those notes, so they're all coming from scratch and may take a little bit longer, especially while I'm distracted by work and stuff. But they are happening I promise!

Feel free to let me know what you think and point out any silly boo-boo's iv missed.


	30. The Silver What?

**Chapter 30 – Silver What?**

Dinner was a lot more eventful with an extra member to our group. Renji seemed a lot more enthusiastic and who could blame him, finally he was less outnumbered by girls and he seemed to appreciate the male company. I, on the other hand, I couldn't have mustered up the enthusiasm for a smile let alone join in with their animated conversations.

I didn't even bother to get a plate of food. The smell of cooking made me feel nauseous and my appetite was disappearing as quickly as it had returned. Instead, I lay with my head resting on my good arm across the table and my slung arm hanging loosely below the table.  
Onyx and Ruby were balancing between my knees under the table where no one could see them and tell me off for having my swords out in public. I had worried about them for a moment when we were walking to dinner and I realized I didn't have my swords, then Rukia remembered retrieving them from the dojo floor and accidentally leaving them in the nurses' office. She hurried away to get them back for me but was only gone long enough for Momo to save her a spot in the dinner queue as the medical wing was only a block away from our favourite haunt.

The mild painkillers were wearing off now. The pain throbbed through my body like pulsing waves but when they asked what was wrong I told them I was just tired.

Thankfully Momo only tried to make me eat once, then went back to their interesting conversation with Kira. It seemed they were discussing where they came from and their background and I vaguely heard the stories of Kira's high-born upbringing and Renji and Rukia's life in the slums, though the vagueness on their part was less to do with my throbbing headache and more to do with their discomfort in sharing such information. I assumed it felt a little awkward revealing such things about their lives to wealthy people who could never possibly understand the trials that those unlucky enough to reach the distant lands face.  
I could only go by what I had read in books, but Rukia and Renji made it sound like a godforsaken place that was best forgotten about and nobody pushed them further.

I was glad they didn't involve me. Any other time I would have had tons of stories to tell them but I preferred to get into the conversation some other time, right then I was more interested in resting and reserving energy before I had force it all out on the running track.  
I secretly hoped one of them would have the sense to wait at the finish line to catch me when the inevitable crash came.

They finished their meals and I dragged myself along beside them in the direction of the track field. The sun was descending past the horizon and the sky was a mix of bright pinks, purples, and oranges but the school was just waking up for the weekend.  
Kira took a left heading in the direction of his room as we stepped out of the academy building on Dorm Street.

"Are you guys not retiring?"  
"No, Kimi wants to attempt not to fall flat on her face."  
"Shut it Renji," I managed, though I felt like I might fall just from walking unaided, let alone racing.  
"Ah, you mentioned it earlier, mind if I tag along?"  
"Of course, she needs every bit of support she can get! And whatever happens, we're gonna cheer her on! Right guys?" Momo added with a bounce in her step.  
"Right!" they all agreed. But it did nothing to help my anxiety. Now I had the fear of disappointing my friends to worry about too.

The track course was lit by floodlights and a crowd of participants and spectators had gathered on the green at the centre of the track.  
As we approached the coach turned to greet us and he froze mid-sentence.  
"Murasaki, good to see-"

My heart plummeted to my stomach at the look of puzzlement that swept across his brows as the white sling wrapped around my neck caught his eye.  
"What on earth happened to you?"  
"I-I..." I stuttered, my brain scrambling for a convincing lie to tell.  
"She got injured during Zanjutsu, sorry Coach, it was my mistake." Renji jumped in and I admired his honesty.  
The coach looked me over and I looked away, hoping that he wouldn't see how weak I felt, but it was no good.  
"Murasaki, I don't know the extent of your injury, but I can't let you compete like this. You look like you might drop with another step."  
"No! Coach, Please! I'm okay I can do this! I wanna be on the team!"  
Rukia looped her arm around and mine and squeezed hard and I calmed down.  
"Please..." I pleaded weakly.

The Coach shook his head. "No-can-do kiddo. I would do the same if a team member was injured. I can tell you're not in a fit state by looking at your face. You're white as a ghost. Go get some rest and I'll reschedule your trial run."

"I- wait you can do that? I can try when I'm better?"  
"Of course. You didn't choose to be injured, I assume?"  
Renji fidgeted slightly and I shook my head. "It was an accidental"  
"Exactly. Medical issues are mostly unavoidable so I can give you a deadline extension which will also be applicable for your other clubs if needed."

I blinked. Well, there goes my worry of how I'm gonna hold an instrument, I thought.

"Thank you, Coach. I'll be better soon, I won't keep you waiting"  
"Don't exert yourself. Get better in your own time or you'll make things worse. You're still in my Hoho classes so if I see your health improve enough I'll tell you when I think you're ready. Now go get some sleep." He instructed.  
"Good night, sir" and I turned to leave.  
"You're not going to watch?" Renji asked surprised.  
I grimaced. Sitting around watching was like running salt in my wounds. I couldn't sit by feeling weak and helpless, so I used my tiredness as an excuse.  
"You guys can stay but unless you're offering your lap as my pillow, I'm off to bed"

I headed off towards the lake before they could try to convince me.  
"Someone please make sure she doesn't fall asleep before she gets home," Renji said rolling his eyes before departing in the other direction with Kira.

* * *

My usual morning jog was the last thing on my mind the following day. I lay in bed attempting to sleep off the pain after rolling onto my bad arm a few times in my sleep. I had hoped that it would have at least eased off by the time I woke up so I wouldn't have to stay home instead of enjoying my first weekend of school life. But I was disturbed by Rukia and Momo demanding I get up, get dressed and come with them for breakfast before our day trip.

My half asleep brain hadn't reported for duty yet and I wondered what they meant for a moment. Then I remembered that we had made plans to go shopping in the Seireitei.

"Come on, get up sleepy head!" Rukia coaxed me definitely, ripping my curtains open and standing in my doorway as I writhed like a vampire. "You've had like... Twelve hours!"

"Fine..." I huffed from under the covers where the light couldn't reach. "But how am I gonna carry the shopping and stuff?" I whipped out my sling from under my pillow and waved in the air for her to see just in case she had somehow forgotten.

"Don't worry about that, we've got your back" she smiled.  
"All this training is making us super strong!" Momo said as she headed past my door to the bathroom flexing her arm muscles in mock strength.  
Like an owl, I peered through a gap from under my covers and noticed she was wearing a sunny yellow Yutaka and Rukia was once again wearing that same dress she borrowed on the first day for the welcome party. I cringed.

I threw off the covers. "Yeah alright, I'll give it a shot. Though I wanna go to the admin office to make sure I can definitely get a deadline extension for the clubs, just to put my mind at ease."

"That's fine, we can do that on the way out but if I recall you didn't eat anything last night so the first priority and getting you some energy"  
"Yes, Mom." I drawled vaulting over the side of my bunk to the floor with my hand tightly secured at my front.

I reached for my uniform draped in the back of my desk chair then remember I wasn't going to classes, so I reached into my closet and pulled out a pair of my usual black shorts and a baggy pale green shirt that was probably one of Hatsu's that had shrunk as my shorts were barely visible beneath it.  
I bunched the shirt up into a knot at the front so just it didn't look like I was walking around in my night clothes. There was too much effort and discomfort in dressing myself for me to care what I looked like at that moment. I ran a brush through my hair as left it hanging down long, covering the little backpack I found lurking under my desk.

As soon as I was ready, much slower than usual due to limited arm movement, I slipped on a pair of plain black speakers and took some painkillers against the instructions on the box that stated they must be taken with food, but I didn't think I could last that long without some relief so I ignored the warnings and downed two pills with water.

"Is that your idea of dressing to impress?" Momo asked looking me up and down

"No. This is my idea is not giving a crap. Who am I supposed to be impressing?"  
"no one in particular. This is the only real time you get to wear your own clothes and make yourself look nice, that's all"  
"And I don't care what random people think of me, comfort over looks any day."

We headed to breakfast where I managed to successfully stuff my face one-handed, which was extremely inefficient, for the first and hopefully only time in my life, and finally had one less ache and pain to deal with once my belly was fully on chocolate croissants. Impressed with my improvement on yesterday Rukia decided that I was indeed fit to leave and we backtracked to the office before escaping the confines of the campus for the first time.

The admin office gave me a two-week sick note that I was allowed to present at any and all classes and they filed an extension order directly to my two clubs on my behalf without any questions, as my arm was clearly not in working order.

With one less thing to worry about and a considerable bounce in my step that was probably coming from all the sugar I had on my breakfast, we left campus through the front gates with our ID tags hanging around our necks in plain sight and headed a few blocks south towards the west Seireitei entrance.

The Seireitei was guarded by massive grey stone walls that completely blocked any view between the Rukon and the Thirteen Court Guard Squad military city. It occurred to me that I had never even seen a photo of the Seireitei, besides a distant picture of the tallest tower in a book many years ago. My excitement rose at the mysterious nature of the place and I suddenly felt privileged to be given the opportunity that most people would never get.

As we neared the colossal gates we spotted an entrance point to the far left.  
"Did you ever hear that legend?" Momo asked quietly as if she was afraid someone would hear.  
"What legend?" Rukia asked  
"They say the gates to the city are guarded by huge mutant giants that kill anyone who enters without permission"  
I snorted.  
"What? It's true, lots of people say it!" She insisted.  
"Just because people say so doesn't make it true," Rukia said.  
"If there were any giants around here I'm sure we would have seen them by now" I rationalized glancing around but all I saw was students and locals going about their daily business.  
"Yeah, I guess so... Oh, ID tags at the ready!" she said as we slipped into a small queue of soul reapers and students entering the city at the border.

We passed through an office where they checked and scanned our IDs.  
The border opened out onto a huge open square courtyard with spotlessly white stone floors and buildings that were almost identical in design to the academy building around the edges of the courtyard, what felt like miles away.

Students were loitering around, some looking like they were waiting for friends, others already carrying purchases from the nearby high street.  
We were each handed a leaflet by a group of senior's as we entered.  
"It's a map" Momo announced looking it over. "Wow... this place is huge! And this is only the area that students had access to,"

"Yeah, beyond this point over here is Squad territory," I said pointing to the red line on the map that marked the border between the shopping district and the military barracks.  
"No way!" Rukia cheered suddenly.  
"What? What happened?" Momo said jumping in surprise.  
"Our ID cards can be used as credit! They're linked to student bank accounts and I have this grant from the academy to help me pay for supplies... I can pay for things myself!" She said as if this was the most wondrous, magical function in the world.

"Aww, man... if I'd have known that I would have sent money from home and started filling up my account instead of bringing cash with me..." I moaned tapping my backpack to make sure my money still safe.

"I didn't know you could do that... I need to reread the handbook!" Momo decided as if this one important but illusive detail had offended her on a spiritual level.

"You can do that tonight if it makes you feel better. Let's get moving before we start a traffic jam" I said ushering them forward towards the row of building on the left where the shop's started.

It was a little overwhelmed at first. This district seemed to be very much catered to student life, lots of restaurants, clothes shops, school supplies as shops that sold an assortment of supplies related to clubs and classes, even bars and clubs above and below the shops, their opening times and special student deals stamped boldly over doorways.  
We wandered along the street for a while as we compared the labels on the map to get our barrings. Momo and I that is. Rukia was busy gazing into shop windows in awe, calling for us to come look at the most mundane things, but we didn't have the heart to tell her that none of this was interesting to us. She was so excited and I wondered how it must feel to come from a place that didn't have this sort of existence.

"All right. Do we start with the heavy essentials or the clothes and light knick-knacks?" I asked, hovering outside the door of a bookstore and pointing over to a clothing store.  
"The books are gonna break our backs. Let's get clothes first." Momo decided, entering the store.

It took longer than expected. Rukia was an inch or two shorter than me but much skinnier from malnutrition, so we had to get her fitted before we even established what her style was.  
I brought an assortment of fabrics for her to try on: Traditional clothes like Yukata's and more modern outfits like what I was wearing, only girlier. Predictably she went for the traditional.  
She picked out sleepwear, day wear, lazy wear, pieces for each season including thermals and finally party wear.

She looked like she was gonna explode when she saw the price and I jumped in.  
"Here, my treat."  
"Kimi! You can't! That's too much!"  
Honestly, it wasn't a lot to me but to Rukia, it was probably a fortune.  
"My treat" I repeated pushing her aside defiantly as I pulled out cash. "You can pay for your school supplies, as your academy grant is intended."  
"... Thank you" she said ceasing with her attempts to put my money back from my hand to my pocket. "I'll pay you back somehow"  
"It's a gift Rukia, you don't need to pay those back" I smiled.

Before we left I picked up a few pretty coloured hair ribbons for Momo and I. I couldn't not get her something after spending so much on Rukia, that would be unfair.

We perused more windows before they got tired of carrying the bags and watching me happily stroll with only one light bag of hair accessories hanging from my good arm. Both of them finally brought a backpack like mine to evenly distribute the weight, as I had already suggested earlier.

By midday, the sun was high and exceptionally warm for mid-spring.  
We collapsed down under the shade of a tree that was beginning to blossom with tiny brown and pink buds.

"Phew, this is quite the haul," I said whistling out a breath of exertion as I leaned back to take a swig of the juice Rukia had just brought from a vendor.

"Really!? You don't say!" Momo huffed, dropping her bags dramatically. "Anyone would think you've outdone yourself today!"

"Hey, you heard what the nurse said: No overexerting myself. Iv gotta take it easy else I won't heal quickly" I said smugly, inwardly grinning at the disbelief on their faces.

"Yeah, you milk it while you can!" Rukia said grinning as she dropped next to me and started fidgeting with a cute little trinket box Momo brought her as a gift to keep her hair accessories in.

I took another long gulp if juice "I'm sure I have no clue what you mean."  
"Don't make me tell the nurse you're faking it!" Momo threatened.  
"I'm not milking it. I'm in pain and I'm taking it easy by not using my hand more than I need to. Besides, you said you had my back, did you not?"  
Rukia shrugged. "Something like that,"  
"This is extreme!"  
"Exactly," I said pretending not to hear Momo. "Now, how about we get lunch then look around some more before grabbing the books and heading back?"  
"Only if you hold at least one bag. We can't have two of us with broken limbs!" Momo pouted.  
"Okay okay, if you insist," I said bending down to grab a bag handle but picking up the lightest one with only a few toiletries at the last moment just when they thought was would take a big one. I cackled and skipped away to the Ramen shop over the road before Momo could throttle me.

"Kimiko Murasaki get back here and pull your weight!" Momo called after me but I blew a raspberry and entered the Ramen store.  
"That girl is such a handful. No pun intended" Rukia laughed.  
"If I get through school without dying of a Kimi induced migraine I'll eat my hat" Momo sighed and they headed over to join me.

The food was AMAZING.  
Even I was impressed by the flavour of the broth and the texture of the noodles, only realizing that we didn't have a place like this back home once I had fallen into Ramen heaven.

"We are coming back here again." Rukia decided after a loud, satisfied belch. "But next time we'll bring Renji and Kira"

I groaned. "Can we minus Renji out if the equation? He'll probably get us banned from the place, and I will cry rivers and drown you all if that happens."

They paused for a moment as if pondering my request, they both understood the implications of bringing the dangerous redhead to somewhere so wonderfully, deliciously important. They both nodded vigorously in agreement and continued slurping.

Once our bellies were satisfied we headed further along the street where I spotted a music store as picked up a few records. I fully intended to finally fulfil my promise to write home later tonight and ask if Granny could send over my instruments and any learning material so I could get back into practice before my Music club audition.

I promised I would let the girls watch me practice and put the record player in the living area so they could enjoy it too, but just as I was about to show them what a record disc actually was, I caught a glimpse of the shop we were strolling past.

I stopped, not looking at the wares being sold but at the shop's sign.  
"What's up?" Momo asked doubling back.  
"Oh nothing, I was just trying to read the name of this shop. My kanji isn't the best in the world but I can't make out which word this is" I said pointing to the characters in question.

They stared for a moment, pondering the bold black letters as the sign swung in the light breeze. "Silver Bug?" Momo guessed.

"Silver Bug?" I said doubtfully. "What kind of a name is that? It looks more like... Silver Butterfly?"

Rukia hummed thoughtfully. "Too girly, but that's definitely the kanji for a type of bug. Silver Cicada? There are tons of those noisy things around here in the evening"

We paused, silently staring is if my eyes could force it to explain itself. I peered into the store. It was currently empty and had rows upon rows of brightly coloured reflections of myself gazing back at me.

"A glasses store... Maybe it's Silver Fly? Flies have huge shiny eyes like glasses?"  
"Eww..." They both shuddered and I shrugged.

"Can I help you, ladies?" A woman said creeping up behind us. We nearly jumped out of our skin and whirled around as if we were guilty of something.

"Uh- n-no, sorry ma'am we were just looking!" Rukia stuttered far too quickly.  
I elbowed her in the side with my good arm. "May we come in and take a look?" I asked politely.  
"Of course, be our guests," she said, stepping aside and waving a welcoming hand towards the open storefront and we scurried inside.

We each came out with a pair of sunglasses and reading glasses for studying.  
I groaned as I looked into my very light purse and glanced at my dwindling funds.  
"Dammit... I'm gonna have to get my family to send some more money over...I barely have enough for books"

"You didn't have to buy all those you know..."

"We were standing there like idiots, I had to do something! Next time I'll have to pay with my student ID card as get the money sent over to me. I never imagined they would be so expensive..."

"Well... At least we look cool now!" Momo beamed putting on her big pink-framed sunglasses.

"And we can pretend to study and no one will doubt us!" Rukia said slipping on her reading specs that had violet blue frames similar to her shades. Mine were plain black with lenses that reflected the ever-changing colour of oil in the light, but they were oversized and almost as big as my cheeks. My reading glasses were kinda similar to my hair, black but they shone turquoise blue in the light instead of purple.

"Renji will be so jealous! He's going to want a pair too but he'll never afford them" Rukia laughed smugly.

* * *

We left the shop and carried on our original route and came into the square courtyard we started on, coming back into ourselves in a circle, and returned to the bookstore at the beginning of the street.

We brought brand new, fresh, crisp, unstained study books and textbooks for all of our subjects that had that smell of new parchment instead of that stale smell of last year's spilled dinner.  
I even shrugged off the rapid evaporation of my money and treated myself to a book of sheet music for string instruments, including the guitar which I was assuming would be easy to learn due to already playing the Shamisen, which was practically the same thing.

With a heavy backpack that I was afraid would split at the seams like one of Momo's shopping bags, which I new carried the contents of against my will, we headed back to the academy and I forced myself to ignore the bakery as we passed it.  
I would endure one more weak of no snacks. I must endure as I was officially broke, for now.

Renji and Kira were sitting together in our usual corner of the room already munching on spaghetti when we walked into the dining hall after dropping off our purchases at the dorm.

We wandered in wearing our oversized sunglasses, faces expressionless and sat down opposite them staring in silence.

They stared right back at us, their forks froze in mid-air on the way to their mouths.

Renji burst out laughing and almost face planted in his spaghetti.

Rukia ripped her glasses off and slammed her fist on the table indignantly. "How dare you laugh at us! We look awesome!"

"Who told you that? The colony of big-eyed ants who sold them to you? You look ridiculous!" He howled and Kira snorted too, his serious straight face dissolving into a barely contained lip biting grin.

"Wow, how rude!" Momo said taking hers off too.

"Wait... Maybe he's right!" I burst out as it hit me, my glasses still perched on my nose while I completely ignoring the boy's laughs. "Maybe the name was Silver Ant!" Renji looked at me and laughed harder. I snarled at him, wishing my arm wasn't in a sling so I could reach over and punch him in the face.

"Silver Ant?" Kira asked curiously ignoring Renji's over dramatic roars.

"The shop we brought them from had a weird name, the kanji confused us" I explained taking my glasses off.

"I'll head over there and tell you what it says first try, easy!" Renji declared, calming down enough to speak.

I snorted. "You can barely read a textbook, let alone a slightly confusing signpost."

The others hissed as if being burned by something hot and laughed appreciatively.

"Shut it, bug face" he snapped.

"3-2 to Kimi," Kira announced.

"That's crap, I'm winning!" Renji argued.

"You're not. You probably just forgot how to count past 2-" I pointed out.

Kira hissed again and updated the score. "4-2 to Kimi, you're slacking bro,"

Renji got up from his seat with his plate suddenly. "Fine, I'll head over there and prove I know what I'm talking about," he said determinedly and he stormed away.

"I think he's mad..." Momo said watching him leave.

"Don't mind him. He's just jealous that he got left behind to receive his detentions while you girls were out having fun. He'll get over it" Kira got up from his seat and collected up his plates.

"Good evening, ladies. See you tomorrow," He smiled and nodded politely before taking off after Renji.

"He's such a cry baby." I grinned putting my glasses back on and shoveling an unholy large rolled up fork full of spaghetti into my mouth.

* * *

I got back to my room as the sun began to set, ignoring my heaps of shopping bags and instead sitting at my desk to write the letter I had been meaning to start all week beneath the warm lamplight, thanking the gods that I'd had the sense to catch Renji's sword with my useless left hand.

I sat there chewing on the end of my pen for a while, wondering how I was supposed to put this last week into words, especially in a way that would stop my sister for storming down here and demanding that I withdrew into a life of padded walls and cotton wool.

 _Dear Yuu,_ I began letting my hand move of its own accord.

 _I hope this letter finds you all well. I apologize for taking so long to write, let's say this first week has been... Eventful to say the least._

 _I'm sorry if I made you worry, yes I know you're worried because you always are when you don't hear from me for a while. You have a habit of always jumping to the worst conclusion but I promise you, besides the usual clumsy cuts and bruises, all is well._

 _So far I've learned to cast magic, heal people, fight with a real sword and tons of useless information I will probably never use about people who have probably been dead for centuries. But that's too be expected I suppose. It's worth ensuring the boring classes for the interesting ones._

 _My room mates are in all of my classes and they're the best friends I could possibly ask for. They've been there when I needed them and made the few tedious classes bearable. One of them is the girl I told you about from the exams, the one whose brother Hatsu hates for cheating. Please don't tell Hatsu, but he's in my classes too, but I will get my own back I promise! I'm already keeping track of how many times Iv won against him._ I smiled and jotted a little 4-2 beside that sentence with a smiley face.

 _Hopefully, soon I will be on the Track Team and in the Music Club, which is one of the things I wanted to ask you. Would you please ask Granny Chie to mail over my instruments and some of her spare records? I intend to practice in my free time, which I'm sure she will be pleased to hear._

 _I'll write again soon when I have more interesting news and hopefully, I will be able to visit home soon. Perhaps I will bring Rukia and Momo along. Take care of everyone, feel free to write whenever you like, I'll include my address and a few trinkets I found while shopping today. The Seireitei is a sight to see, I only wish you could see it with me._

 _Love you all, miss you, Kimi x_

I smiled at the letter, happy with it for now. I was careful to keep out the details of my injury as it would only make them worry. But otherwise I was sure I had covered anything they might want to know. I packed it into an envelope ready to send it away in the morning and crawled into bed, conking out before I could turn my light off.

* * *

I'm baaaaack~ This one has been sitting in draft on my phone for weeks but im working like 40 hours a week now and barely have the energy to think after work, let alone write and attempt this years Inktober:(  
Thank you to all of the people who reviewed and favourite, it brightens my day as always. Feel free to leave your thoughts and point out mistakes as always.

And 3rdSeatofSquad2 if you read this, thanks for the review and I promise you all of the things you have mentioned (and so many more) will be appearing in the story, with the addition of Kimi's involvement i'll be making them better explained mainstream events rather than little side arcs that leave more questions than answers in the canon. I hope you enjoy them when I finally publish them, they're all in draft at the moment but I have a lot of fluff in the academy arc to get through before the mainstream stuff can kick in.

More coming soon, byeeeee~


	31. Think Fast, Move Faster

**Chapter 31 - Think Fast, Move Faster**

For the beginning of the next day I lazed around in my pajamas doing absolutely nothing productive whatsoever, against my own will of course. I had never dreamed of wasting my time in such a way. I was far too active to vegetate and sloth around all day, but I was under forced house arrest by order of my darling roommates.

I'd had decent sleep and woke up the with motivation to go for a run, but when Momo and Rukia saw me holding my hand like a kitten with an injured paw they demanded that I get back in bed and spend my Sunday recovering, avoiding any activities that could strain me.

I protested loudly to this, having what I considered a phobia of being cooped up indoors after my many instances of groundings back home, but they were having none of my tantrums. "It'll be good for you!" Momo assured me. "I mean, when was the last time you actually put your feet up and relaxed?"

"Its been a while..." I admitted begrudgingly.

"And that book isn't going to read itself ya know" Rukia agreed, tilting her head towards the thick tome on my desk as I tugged my covers over my legs and folded my arms in defiance.

I groaned. "She almost had me convinced! Why'd you have to mention that dusty old piece of crap?!"

She shrugged. "It's true. You've got a deadline that's creeping up and you're not even close..."

"Alright okay, I get it. I'll sit here all alone choking on years of mothballs while you go and have fun. That's fine" I conceded miserably.

They gave each other a regretful glance. Before they came into my room I had overheard them muttering about the schedules for the first day of club activity that they had been accepted into and honestly, I was green with envy. "Heeeyy you know it's not like that..." Momo frowned.

"Yeah, We would take you with us if we could..." Rukia agreed.

"Even if you weren't injured you wouldn't be spending the day with us anyway, we're taking Kido and other stuff you're not enrolled for... You would probably be out running in the tracks or something.."

I gave a heavy sigh, feeling guilty for taking it out on them. "Yeah, I know. I just don't deal well with cages."

"We'll be back in a few hours and we can go to dinner together. How's that sound? You can even have my helping of dessert" Momo smiled sweetly.

My eyes lit up. "Deal!"

* * *

They both headed out wearing their own clothes and I wished them both luck and a fun day before settling back into bed again.

I really did try my hardest to study but I couldn't concentrate. My mind was trying to focus on anything else but my book.

I tried watching the world go by from my balcony but the high winds had an icy bite to them, so I gave up; I went searching of snacks to binge on but remembered I had foolishly spent my allowance on other things yesterday; I cleaned my room, then the living room and then scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen surfaces; I even tried going back to sleep but found myself rolling around my mattress in circles out of frustration of not being tired.

Finally, I let out a high pitch growl of annoyance and lept out of bed to take my anger out on my puffy black backpack on the floor, forgetting that it was stuffed with books from my shopping trip, and I only succeeded in giving myself a sore toe.

Then I remembered the letter I wrote last night sitting quietly in my desk drawer.

 _ **My ticket out of here...**_ I thought, glimpsing a shining ray of hope.

There was no harm in going for a stroll to the post office to kill some time, and if the girls found out then I would argue that I was only exercising to stop my arm going stiff. Easy peasy.

I threw on baggy clothes and made myself look at least acceptable before leaving. As I passed through the student housing village and saw the occasional group of people moving together and a thought occurred to me. Maybe the boys were available!

Out of desperation to interact with other people I headed over to the Iron dorm to call on Kira and Renji. The whole campus felt like a ghost town, it seemed almost everyone except a few sixth years was busy with the club meetings.

I wandered into the Iron entrance hall and lingered uncertainly near the door hoping that someone would show up soon. Thankfully a senior that was sitting in the study lounge off to the right, which was the same as ours back at Emeralds but a rustic red colour, spotted me and came over looking puzzled at my presence.

"Hi, I was wondering... Would someone be able to tell me if Renji Abarai and Kira Izuru are available?"

The guy strolled over to a book on the desk next to the door to check the room numbers and disappeared upstairs for a few minutes. My mood sagged as he returned shaking his head.

"Sorry, seems they're not home. They're probably attending their clubs" he advised.

"Yeah, figures." I sighed bitterly and thanked him for his help before leaving.

I had kind of expected Kira to be out, but part of me had hoped that Renji would have been banned from clubs as part of his detention punishments, especially as he was the one who had put me in this position in the first place.

"He should be made to suffer like me..." I muttered to myself knowing that no one was around to think I looked crazy.

It was amazing just how dependent I had become on the people around me already after spending years being treated like a rare and exquisite creature with mysterious powers by the common people around my village. I had never had to pleasure of having a friend with things in common, and now I had four but none of them were around when I really needed company.

"Pull yourself together, girl! It's only for one afternoon! You'll be back to normal in a few hours and back to fighting condition if you hurry up and heal already, dammit! Stupid Renji..."

* * *

The trip to the post office was far too short for my liking but at least I had the opportunity to take a long walk around campus on routes I had never tried before, committing them to memory in case I ever needed a shortcut for my midnight adventures.

The courtyard beyond the Seireitei wall was much quieter than yesterday. Only a handful of students with no Sunday commitments loitered around with friends holding shopping bags, all with their jackets pulled tight around them against cold spring gales. I tried to tell myself that it was a good job I wasn't going for a Track meet up today as running in these conditions would feel like running headlong into a wall. That thought made me feel a little better.

My package bound for Harumachi was off my hands in a matter of minutes as I stood outside of the store feeling completely lost on what to do with my time. Only one thing came to my mind. I did the one thing any "criminal" should never do: Return to the scene of my crime.

My curiosity got the better of me and I headed over to the library again to see how far they had gotten in their repairs.

The entrance hall had been turned into a catalog room where students could browse a list of titles available and reserve them for collection as soon as the library was open again, as well as a drop off point for any students with overdue returns, though this was impossible due to the overflowing box of returned volumes.

I still had a week left on my books but I would worry about renewing them later. Judging by the mess I could see through the glass doors I doubted the library staff would be able to investigate what books were missing any time soon.

The sounds of construction reverberated from the other side of the glass doors and I could vaguely see the towering bookcases stacked side by side through the blinding shafts of sunlight that shone through the glass dome ceiling. Piles of books were stacked on the floor haphazardly looking like they might topple even if breathed on. But it was an improvement over my handy work, if not a slow one.

I browsed the catalogs for a while to give myself something to do and signed my name up for a few interesting books about concealment spells. It crossed my mind that it might be a dangerous thing to do and people may ask questions about my reading choice, after all, why would a first-year student want to learn about such suspicious advanced techniques? But I hoped that, based on the number of names in the reservations book, no one would blink an eye.

* * *

Later that afternoon Momo and Rukia returned literally bouncing through the door with excitement. "Oh, Kimi! I wish you'd have been there! It's like going to classes with all of the different year groups but they're more fun and relaxed and the seniors are super helpful!"

"And there's snacks!" Rukia added as if knowing this would seal the deal for me, not that I had any doubts or needed any incentives to get involved. If I had my way I'd have been at club meetings from dusk till dawn today.

"Was this Kido?" I asked in faint interest, my legs sprawled across the back of the sofa, my barely read book hovering above my face. This was for some reason my most concentrated possition despite the slight blood rush to my brain. But the girls were too excited to take notice of my weird habbits.

"Yeah, but not just Kido! We went to Art's & Crafts too, and I had my first Aizen Society meeting..." Momo said trailing off as if building up to something important.

"Uh oh..." Rukia said ducking out the of the way.

"HE WAS THERE! HE WAS ACTUALLY IN ATTENDANCE! HE GAVE US A SPEECH AND TALKED ABOUT HIMSELF AND READ US SOME OF HIS POETRY AND... AND... HE SAID HELLO TO ME!" She concluded dramatically in a single breath high pitch squeal, almost turning blue.

"She hasn't shut up about it since I met up with her. I'm surprised it took her this long to tell you"

"Oh, yay, fun, yippee" I cheered dryly, my best attempt at fake enthusiasm in this instance. I was being a bit of a spoilsport but how was I supposed to be excited when I had spent all day desperately trying to entertain myself without inflicting more pain.

"Awww Kimi..." Rukia cooed. "I'm sorry, I know how much you want to be out there doing stuff... If there was something we could do to help we would"

"I know I know, it's not your fault. I'm just cranky."

"Give it a week and you'll be free again. You just need to rest and be patient." Momo instructed.

"You changed your tune quick, yesterday I was faking it!"

"I was only joking, I know you're not. Come on let's head to dinner. A happy belly equals a happy mind!" I snapped the book closed without bothering to keep my page.

"Now you're talking my language"

* * *

"Where have you guys been hiding?" I demand when we arrived at our usual table later on.

"It's Silver Moth," Renji said in reply and I blinked in surprise.

"You went into town? Just to read the name of the shop?" I asked incredulously.

"Nope. Check these out!" And from his pocket, he whipped out a pair of the ugliest, sharp-angled, pointy, angry-looking black shades I had ever had the misfortune to see.

"What the..." I said not bothering to hide my distaste.

"What are those..." Rukia cringed.

"These, dear sister, are epic," he said resting them on his face and continuing with his dinner as if he had effortlessly won the argument. We all snorted. Even Kira rolled his eyes.

"And he had the nerve to make fun of my glasses. Please tell me you didn't too..." I pleaded to Kira and he shook his head.

"Not my thing. I'd rather have the sun blind me then wear those."

Renji shrugged. "Your loss, man."

"Well, at least you've had an eventful day unlike some of us. I came looking for you earlier but you'd already left"

"Renji insisted on getting up at the crack of dawn so we had a few hours to check out the town before my Newspaper club meeting"

"Did you not have any meetings Renji?" Rukia asked.

"No. I'm banned temporarily as part of my detentions," he pouted intentionally looking away from me.

I grinned and thought just how wonderful karma and justice felt.

"But no one said anything about going into town so I hightailed it outta here before anyone could stop me," he said quietly as if he were cautious of someone of authority overhearing and banning that privilege too.

I glanced at him just as he rubbed a hand irritatedly across his forehead above his new, clean white Bandana. I caught a glimpse of an angry looking red mark. I didn't think anything of it at first, then he did it again, and again.

"Dude, what's up with your face?" I asked squinting.

He tugged his Bandana a little bit lower. "What a rude question. I thought they thought rich 'ladies' were brought up to have manners" he snapped deflecting the bullet back at me. I tsked indignantly.

"If you think I'm a well-mannered lady you clearly don't know me and have never seen me and my sister side by side. I'm practically a common slob compared to Princess Yuu."

"Are you having a break out Renji?" Rukia teased before I had the time to think up a comeback. He went bright red.

"I'm not some spotty teenager you know!"

"Then what is it? Looks like a spotty rash to me" I chipped in.

"Mind your own business, snot-face" he snapped again.

"Rukia, you hold him I'll rip it off" she nodded and we both rose.

Like lightning, he pushed his chair away ready to bolt but I was too quick for him. I yanked the bandana off and stared in confusion.

Right there sat Renji's eyebrows, as if they'd miraculously grown back.

"Wow, Did you draw your eyebrows on?" Momo giggled. Then it clicked. They were far too dark and too perfect around the edges to be real.

"Wrong kind of ink, Momo! You got them tattooed?!" I almost squealed in surprise.

"Shut up! I knew you would react like that!" He said snatching the bandana back and retying it.

"I do believe that is 5-2 to Kimi," Kira said, updating our score but Renji was too pissed to take much notice.

"Thank you, Kira." I bowed in his direction appreciatively. "So, what? Did you intend to wear that for the rest of your life and hope we never saw it? What's the point in having them tattooed if you never want to show anyone? You might as well have waited for them to grow back"

"I was gonna show you all, just when the time was right"

I snorted. "You fool," I said holding out a hand. He looked at it as if it were an alien object. "Put her there partner! I never thought you'd have the balls to join the rebellious club! I'm proud of your efforts!" The others nearly spat out their food, except Rukia. She was too busy gawping with her mouth catching flies in disbelief.

"Hey, you leave my balls out of this!"

"That's not what I meant!" I said turning redder than Momo's strawberry tart that was soon to be mine, as she promised earlier. "I meant you don't come across as a daredevil, or a risk taker. You always assume the worse... I actually think they're kinda cool..." I scrambled to justify. He rolled his eyes, probably thinking I was just being a suck-up. But it was true, they did look kinda cool with the little flick on the end that gave them an almost tribal style.

"Renji..." Rukia sighed. "Those are on your body forever now..."

"And so were my real eyebrows, until they got burned off. At least these aren't flammable."

She flipped her glare to Kira. "And where were you to talk some sense into him!?"

"Probably holding his hand through the pain" I mumbled under my breath and Renji kicked my shin. Kira didn't hear me but recoiled at Rukia's accusatory tone.

"Hey, I'm not his father. He can do whatever he likes"

"Well don't come crying to us when you get bored of your tattoos, Renji." Rukia said defiantly.

"Bored? Like hell! I wanted to have them extended further but I ran out of money. If I'd have seen the tattooist before the bug shop I'd have brought these another time" he said waving around his spiky shades and glaring at me as if it was my fault for bringing the confusingly named store to his attention.

"I want one too! I'm coming with you next time!" I declared suddenly making up my mind. They all rolled their eyes.

"See what you started Renji!" Momo said jabbing a fork in his direction. "The two of you are going to look like hooligans if Kimi turns this into a competition as she does with everything else"

"We won't, she's not invited." He said.

"Oh hell yes! I'm gonna win!" I contradicted him in the same breath and we glared at each other.

"You couldn't take the pain anyway, hedgehog. You would cry at the sight of the needle."

"Oh, you want a bet?! You're on!"

"Oh for crying out loud..." they moaned.

"Well, now that fiasco is over I should really get back and finish reading this book before bed."

Renji's eyes widened. It was like watching a candle trying to light up in a rainstorm. I could almost hear the cogs in his little peanut brain working overtime to process this alarming info. "We had books to read? Did we have homework?"

I snorted at his panic. Even Kira laughed "No it's nothing like that, just a bit of personal research"

Renji sagged into his seat in relief.

"I've been trying to study for the last two days but it's not happening..." I sighed.

"Then how about we make a study group! We can stay focused and bounce ideas off each other" Momo suggested.

"And where would we do that? Were not allowed in the dorms and the library is out of bounds" Renji pointed out.

"Not true. You're just not allowed past the staircases to the bedrooms," Momo corrected him matter-of-factly.

Renji's mouth swung open again. "You mean iv been sitting out on that stone cold wall freezing my ass off for you three every morning for nothing?!"

"Your problem for not paying attention." I chimed cheerily.

"And for not reading the guide book like I told you to!" Momo repeated once again. He shut up after that and I was tempted to update the score once more but I went easy on him for a change.

* * *

Once the boys had grabbed their books we found the comfiest armchairs in the corner of the Emerald study lounge by the unlit fire before the rest of the girls could invade. We piled our books on the floor and Rukia had papers spread out all along the low table while she attempted to explain the things she has learned in Kido club to Renji, as if a little bit of advice would make him good enough to never self combust again.

In theory, the whole study group method sounded great but I was more focused on the conversations going on around me than my own book, which once again hovering above my face. Renji called me an alien for being so weird but I ignored him.

Even silly little bits of conversation from seniors drifted too me like leaves on the wind from the other side of the room. I blew a frustrated raspberry and started my paragraph again.

"What's up shrimp? Blood rushing to your head yet?"

"6-3?" Kira asked uncertainly.

"Nah, not harsh enough. It actually kinda is rushing to my head but no biggy." I admitted.

"That's bull! I never get a point..."

I ignored his whining and let out a huge breath of annoyance."I just can't focus! There's only so many times I can misread the same sentence before I want to burn the damn boo-" but just then as if hearing my thoughts of arson, a searingly sharp pain shot through my wrist like I'd scolded myself on the edge of a hot pan.

Out of pain reflex, I dropped the book on my face with a thud and I let out a squeal loud enough to attract the attention of the whole campus.

My friends almost died laughter as I sat there wiping the plumes of dust off my tomato red face in stunned embarrassment.

"What was that about?" Rukia laughed wiping away a tear once the howls had subsided.

"I don't know!" I whined indignantly as the rest of the room muttered in my direction.

"I felt this pain that made me jump and I dropped it... Maybe I put too much pressure on the scar or something..." I sat up straight and held the book up to shield my ugly scarred hand from view.

I expected the angry red scar, but as I peeled away the bandages a new welt appeared in the form of words beneath my black stone bracelet.

"Assemble. Usual place." I stared at my skin aghast. "You gotta be kidding me..." I said aloud in shock, understanding at once.

"Hmm?" Kira asked, barely looking up from his book.

"Oh nothing, just realized my book is way overdue for return and I really don't want risk having detention time with Renji."

"Did you have to remind me-"

"I should really go and take it back before curfew," I said ignoring their confused expressions and rushing off my room before they could convince me otherwise.

When I got to the stairs I poked my head back around the wall. "And don't wait for me, I'll be fine"

In a hurry, I wrapped up warm in my black clothes and shoved my hat and scarf in the huge pockets of my baggy hoodie.

As a precaution, I concealed Ruby, the shorter of my two swords (and conveniently the more useful one) under my arm beneath my hoodie and tucked it into my pants so it ran the length of my body but was only detectable if you looked for it and still allowed me to move normally, just in case the surprise summons involved combat.

Once the sword was secure on the side that faced away from the study lounge, I wrapped my sling around my shoulders and my held library book clearly visible under my other arm so that I would be easily recognizable on my way out, in case I needed an alibi later.

I waved to my friends as I exited to make sure they saw me. Once I was outside I casually slipped sideways into the shadow of the building and swapped my sling and book with my scarf-mask and hat, switching from conspicuous to concealed.

On the run to the meeting spot, I had to be more careful than usual as it was much earlier in the evening than I was used to sneaking out. There were far too many loiterers for my liking. People were still coming home from detention, clubs, dinner or some were just hanging out with friends before the quickly approaching curfew. But I knew that if anyone spotted me lurking like this and thought to question it, I could be done for.

I launched myself from the closest roof to the bell tower platform in one huge flash step that I was actually proud of, then realized I wasn't alone like the first time. Many people were already assembled there, some waiting patiently while others fidgeted in discomfort or annoyance.

There were easily double the number of people there than on the initiation night which told me I was in the presence of experienced senior members.

I hovered wearily near the wall making sure my scarf-mask was tight around my face and hood up to cast my eyes in shadow. The last thing I wanted was for someone to find out who I was and snitch on me for being here.

A few tense minutes elapsed then the shadows against the far wall shifted like undulating water and the mysterious leader in her full ninja get up melted out of the wall. I gasped. **_What an entrance..._** I thought in awe.

What was that trick? Had she been there the whole time, just watching us? Now I wanted to learn concealment Kido more than ever.

As she strode towards us the rest of the crowd sank to one knee in deeply respectful bows. I stared around confused before quickly joined them, knowing that hesitating for a moment too long would identifying me as a freshman by not knowing something that was probably part of their routine. They were all clearly accustomed to this, but why would they bow to her as if she were royalty? Was this mysterious woman really that special?

"Good evening, and welcome to our handful of successful Freshmen. Good to see that my unexpected summons didn't... drop any of you in HOT water." she said with an audible smirk. "Many people would have lost their heads under such circumstances, but this confirms I was right to place my confidence on this group."

She was playing with us? As if burning a message into our skin was some kind of funny prank, just another little test to see what extreme would cause us to make mistakes. I clenched my fists. Being messed with made my blood boil but I was determined not to show any obvious signs of weakness. I had this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that anyone who took part in illegal and criminal activities for kicks was fully capable of ratting out a teammate the moment they found out their identity and weakness. That didn't say much for me either, of course but I was not going to do such a horrible thing or allow it to happen to me.

"From now on, Freshers, you will refer to me as Commander. You will come when summoned by your calling beads. If you are occupied at the time, unoccupy yourselves. Failure to attend will result in your excommunication from the group and the destruction of your bracelets which should be worn at all times and serve as your club identification, should it be needed. The stealth arts are not simply a fun pass time, they are a way of life. If you are not practicing them with every breath you take then you are not worthy." She finished harshly, staring around at us as if daring anyone to walk away while they had the chance. Thankfully no one did.

"Right. So now that the niceties are over, let's press on with the task at hand. I have called you all here on a real mission. I'm afraid there's no time for training exercises tonight. The joint council, which includes high ranking students, faculty members and certain ranked officers of the Seireitei, are about to terminate an emergency meeting that has been held here on campus. I do not have the details of the meeting, its members or the location. However, despite the lack of knowledge, I require the details of what was discussed in this meeting. Your task is to find the members of the council and retrieve the information by any method. Preferably I require documents. You must not be caught or figured out, and please keep the methods strictly not violent." she added and I few groans told me that something unfortunate had once happened.

I gulped nervously, glancing around at my eager looking cohorts. "Be back here with your spoils by midnight. Oh and just to add a little bit of competing, I may just add a point system to these meetings." She smirked. there was a smattering of appreciative cheers. "Many important missions depend on your success. DISMISSED" she ended, waving her hand and in a flash, the seniors were gone. So fast that I didn't even see their legs move.

Those of us who were new were left in their dust. "Well? Think faster and move faster, newbies." The commander taunted and then vanished too. Before I had time to think I was leaping into the air once again. Secret council meetings? Council members with documents? How the hell was I supposed to know who they were, let alone guess where they were coming from or how to retrieve the intel. "Think fast and move faster!" I muttered to myself like a focusing mantra. "Cmon, think!"

I ran to the north in the direction of the administration offices where paperwork would assumably be kept, then the answer hit me. It was closer to home than I ever expected. I sprinted back to the Emerald dorm hoping I wasn't going to be too late to intercept her.

Before I entered I switched back to conspicuous mode so that anyone still hanging around would be able to place me at the dorms just before curfew. With my book under my arm and sling around my neck, I peaked into the study room to make sure my friends had gone to bed and thankfully the place was empty.

I took a seat just inside the archway and pretended to read. Just as I began to get nervous that my hunch was wrong, my prey came waltzing through the double doors with her entourage, all holding stacks papers, books and whispering conspiratorially to each other.

Hurriedly I rose from my seat grabbing my own book and a couple of others from the table in front of me, along with an abandoned drink and headed towards the stairs as if I was going to bed. "Good evening, Headgirl," I said kindly as I approached Kanisawa and cut in front of her group. I barely got an acknowledging nod in reply.

 _ **Daaaammn, whatever they were discussing must be super important**_ I thought, the curiosity of what in the name of the soul king I was about to steal rising in my mind. It seemed unlike Kanisawa not to soak up the special attention. But that worked for me.

They were too focused to notice the preparation for my next little trick. I positioned myself so that my injured hand was closest to the banister, my drink on top the balancing pile of books in my good hand. As I climbed the stairs, I intended to drop a book or two down the stairs, bend to retreieve them and make them drop their papers when they tripped over me, then swipe the documents during the cleanup;

Instead, not at all planned and unquestionably convincingly, I walked too close to the banister and tripped up over my own feet, causing myself to lurch forward to grab the rail for balance with my injured hand out of survival reflex.

Before I could stop myself the damage was done and I yelped in real pain at the sudden impact of my scarred palm against the mahogany stair rail and dropped my stolen drink and my entire stack of books then fell back down the stairs on top of my unsuspecting victims.

With a great big crash and surprised yelps we toppled back like a bowling ball into pins and landed in a heap at the bottom.

For a moment I lay there dazed on top of bodies until I came back to reality and jumped up."Oh my god, I am so sorry!" I squeaked.

The five of them, Kanisawa and four other girls lay entangled above a sea of papers. "I'm so sorry!" I repeated again not really knowing what I could possibly do to apologize.

I had meant to just act clumsy, not actually use them as reverse target practice!

Then my brain came back to life and I remembered my mission.

"I can't believe I could be so clumsy... Here let me help you all!" I ducked down as began shuffling the loose papers into a pile, quickly scanning over the titles while the girls were more focused on recovering from their crash landing.

My heart plummeted. The files were mostly messed up and completely illegible while in the wrong order, and maybe some of this was.. homework? **_Crap_** , I cursed inwardly. **_I really didn't think this through enough._**

Then I spotted what I had been hoping for: A hand bound file called " _Record of conversation"_.

I grabbed for my own books and quickly slipped it in-between the pages of my largest book before placing that between my knees out of sight while I continued to frantically clean the mess.

"Akko? Akko? Hey, wake up!" One of the girls was saying, nudging the red-haired girl who had landed at the bottom of the pile. "Crap, she's out cold!"

"She must have hit her head!" Another suggested.

"Get her to the medical center, now" Kanisawa instructed sternly. She helped them pull the girl to her feet as she sturred. "Go. I'll be with you once I've dropped this mess off." She said, finally directing her gaze at me.

She looked livid with an angry blemish on her cheek, but as her eyes settled on me she seemed to actually see me for the first time, taking in my sling and the way I was holding my hand like a puppy with a splinter.

I honestly wasn't acting. It actually did hurt. "I am so sorry Headgirl! I lost my balance! If there's anything I can do to help-"

She sighed and held up a hand to stop me, rubbing her temples as if willing herself not to snap. "It's getting close to curfew, Murasaki. Perhaps you should head to bed and rest. And please see about getting your injury looked at before you maim someone else." she instructed. I wasn't a friendly suggestion, more like a crystal clear order that borderlined a threat.

"Yes, ma'am... I'll take care of it... Good night" I said, feeling terrible for hurting her friend and leaving her to clean up the mess.

As I turned away to leave she said: "And tell Mr. Abarai that if he ever causes this much trouble again, I will personally flay him alive." As a shiver ran up my spine at the threat, knowing that she would probably hold true to her word. I nodded and zipped away up the stairs, making sure to jump each step two at a time before she changed her mind and called me back to condemn me to eternal detention or something.

I ran to our apartment like I was escaping a monster and slammed the door shut behind me, panting as I leaned against it more out of nerves than lack of breath. "Holy crap that was close..." I muttered faintly.

"What was?" Came a curious Momo, peeping her head over the back of the sofa. I nearly had a heart attack.

"Jesus momo! Didn't I tell you not to wait up for me!"

"Correction:" Rukia said, her head popping into view from the sofa beside Momo. "You told us not to wait for you. You said nothing about going to bed or waiting at the room."

"Smart ass.." I mumbled grudgingly.

"You're the smart ass, running around with literally two minutes till curfew." Came another voice and Renji's has popped into view beside Rukia.

I lost it.

"RENJI, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!? DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE WELL GET INTO!?"

"Keep it down, you'll give us away..." Kira's distracted voice said from around the corner.

"You gotta be kidding me..."

"Hey, if you can break the rules so can we." Renji said defiantly.

"You idiots! This isn't a game! If you get caught we'll all get kicked out. If that happens I'll come after you with a very sharp knife and-"

"Alright shut up already before someone hears you!" Renji said leaping over the sofa, grabbing me by the elbow and pulling me into the room away from the door.

There was a spread of food across the low coffee table as the girls had retrieved pillows from our rooms for them to lie on with books open everywhere. "What is this? A sleepover party? Shall we just invite the entire dorm over?!"

Renji dropped down onto MY DAMN PILLOW and stretched like a dog making himself comfortable.

"We were studying just fine so we said screw the rules and brought the party upstairs."

I face planted my hand. "Please tell me no one say you... If this ever gets out..."

"It won't. We're not stupid enough to get caught." Kira assured me. "However, this being our first time attempting this we should really leave now to find a safe route home. That way if we get caught we can say we got lost."

"Good thinking man." Renji agreed, closing his book.

I yanked my pillow out from under his head and he hit the floor with a thud. "Oouuch-"

"Go, get out!" I demanded and they finally gathered their stuff together to leave. I was mortified when they used my bedroom window as an escape hatch. I slammed my window doors shut behind them and marched back into the living room, fuming. "What were your two thinking?!"

"I tried to tell them... But they wouldn't listen.." Momo said quietly like a scorned child.

My heart melted but I shook off the urge to comfort her. "You need to be more insistent with them! Did you not try to explain how much trouble they could be in?"

"We did, but since when did my brother listen to anyone?" Rukia pointed out fairly.

I rubbed my temples in frustration. Kanazawa's very real threat swam in my mind.

"The head girl is already pissed at me... She's going to be keeping an eye on me so we can't have them pulling stunts like that..."

"Kanisawa? Why what happened?"

"Let's just say I bumped into her and made her mad, literally."

"When?"

"Just now downstairs. I was on time for curfew but she's not very happy. We need to tread carefully."

"Aren't you taking this a little too seriously?" Rukia suggested but recoiled at the look I gave her.

"No, this is serious," I said literally putting my foot down. I sighed, I desperately wanted to make them understand but there was no way to word it without spilling my secrets. "Just forget it and go to bed." And I ducked into my room locking the door behind me.

 ** _You idiots!_** I thought savagely kicking the table, cursing myself as well as my friends. If I hadn't been so clumsy I wouldn't have Kanisawa's eye lurking over me. Admittedly my genuine accident had worked out better for me than my planned accident, but still. Now she would be looking for my mistakes and if she became aware of my night time excursions or the boys sneaking in I would be done for.

I removed the _Record of Conversation_ notebook from into of my Spiritual Energy control book and placed it on the desk.

My clock told me it was only just after ten. I had hours until I was due back at the clock tower. I climbed up onto my bunk and sighed attempting to rest, but I was way too alert. The book's presence was pulling at my curiosity so after a while I hopped down and took a peak.

"But should I?" I asked myself. What if the commander wanted the info kept completely private? What if it was a test to see if we were trustworthy or not? What if she intended to inform us so we could help with her mission?

I pondered these possibilities before deciding just to scan through the text briefly. It was all handwritten in black ink with immaculately neat handwriting, presumably Kanazawa's. Each line was coded with a name and a minute in the margin.

Page after page, unsettling words jumped out at me. Words that gave me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

 _Hollow, traitor, thief, bate, hunt, imprison, observe._

My mind began to wander, creating its own imaginary picture of what this text portrayed.

The vision of the hollows that cornered ghost-me in the street that night long ago drifted into my mind's eye and with my heart racing, I slammed the book shut and hid it in my desk drawer before I could black out with another stupid amnesia flashback.

I lay in bed trying not to think about the disturbing things I had read, watching the clock ticking by until I was 11:40. That gave me twenty minutes to get back to the clock town.

I wrapped myself up against the midnight chill and covered my features before heading out on my now familiar route.

* * *

Hi all! Long time again :( Seems my busyness will never end but I'm trying to write whenever I have a spare motivated moment. The next one is already in draft so hopefully soon. Thanks for sticking with me! Feel free to point out any mistakes (or removed formatting because I do put line breaks and stuff in but they sometimes dont make it into the upload for some reason) or leave a review if you feel like it :) Enjoy~


	32. One Night, Two Enemies

Chapter 32 – One night, Two Enemies

Unlike our earlier gathering, I was one of the first to arrive.

Butterflies gathered in my stomach and I had the uneasy feeling that being unaccompanied was a bad sign. Either I had done badly by not making use of my full time, or every other member was running late for whatever reason. Either of those possibilities spelled bad news and something told me I wouldn't want to witness and wrath of the Commander that bad news would no doubt bring.

I hovered restlessly as more and more the club members arrived, most of them holding none descript objects or papers, and after a short but tense wait the Commander dropped in too, though this time she flitted into existence as if she had just landed from a flash step rather than camouflaging herself into the wall like earlier.

"Well then? Let's have your results." She demanded bluntly.

One by one my peers stepped forward to hand over their physical spoils, while others came with visual or verbal Intel.

A few sneaky individuals hadn't procured files and therefore came with news and information instead; Some by speaking to their targets directly, some by eavesdropping and skulling in the shadows; One had even taken photographs of several of the meeting's attendees in case the commander wanted to pick individual targets. Only the Soul King knows where they got the camera from or how they pulled it off without being discovered.

But the Commander seemed truly impressed by their efforts. After each person offered their contributions she rewarded them with a score from one to ten to rank their efforts. Naturally, Mister-Cameraman got high marks while others only got ones and twos.

There were a few sighs and hisses of triumph as these were handed out, creating a little bit of fun competition to encourage us to try out best.

My turn came. I walked forward and like most others, the only words I offered was where I procured information. "For you, Commander," I said respectfully bowing my head and holding out my bound booklet with both hands. "From Head Girl Kanisawa."

When she didn't take it right away I raised my gaze. She hesitated for only a moment longer before taking it and I caught a glimmer of surprise from behind her mask.

"Wait, that's not possible" came an irritated male voice from behind me.

A tall young man stepped forward wearing a baggy grey jumper and sweats, with his head covered by a hood and face concealed with a long black scarf on the outside that wrapped around and draped down to his knees behind his back. There were triangular patterns on the ends of the scarf that reminded me of the fangs of a predator, like a shark or a wolf and a shiver ran down my spine.

"I have Kanisawa's documents right. There no way you can have them too." He insisted.

The Commander didn't tell him to shut up as I had expected but instead flicked through the paperwork as if trying to validate its authenticity.

Did they suspect me of faking it or something? I wondered angrily, glancing between the two of them.

"Where did you get this, Girl?"

My temper ticked like the hands on a clock making their way to the imminent ringing bell.

"From Kanisawa?" I repeated, unable to keep the annoyance and slight sarcasm out of my voice but they didn't seem to notice it.

"When?"

Really? They really didn't believe me? Are they really going to start something here and now in front of everyone? I thought, working myself up into a rage.

"As she entered the emerald dorms shortly after the mission began. Is there a problem, Commander?" I asked, trying to hold back the sarcasm and pointedly giving only the Commander my attention by speaking to her directly instead of the boy now standing at her side like a bloodhound.

"That explains it then." The boy said thoughtfully seeming to piece the puzzle together. "I was able to break into her office only a shortly after she arrived. She entered, sorted out a stack of messy papers and left the office in a hurry. She only took a moment to lock her door but not her Windows."

I winced inwardly.

"So, you encountered her first but took one document from her and allowed her to get away with the rest?" The Commander demanded of me.

"That's all I had the opportunity for!" I tried to justify, but she cut in.

"If the opportunity was not good enough perhaps you should have come up with a better plan or looked for an alternative." She snapped bluntly.

I felt like I'd been slapped. Speechless, I stood there gawping with my mouth wide open beneath my mask.

"Luckily, one of your comrades was waiting in the wings to clean up after your mess, else all of this valuable Intel would have been potentially lost." She said, holding the boy's thick wad of papers and flicking her thumb slowly down the side to demonstrate the volume of material in comparison to my small wire-bound notebook.

I balled my fists. "Comrades? Were hardly comrades if it's everyone for themselves. We can't communicate, we can't know each other's identities, were competing against each other for stupid scores-" I began to argue, feeling like steam might start spewing out of my ears at any moment.

"ENOUGH." she commanded sharply, and I literally bit my tongue to halt my tirade.

"I suppose this is to be expected from a Freshman. In the future I expect you to think faster and move faster. Where there's a will there's a way and each of you should be capable of getting creative with solutions to these sorts of problems. Let this be a lesson to all of you." She paused to look me up and down, taking me in as if to determine if there was anything potentially useful about me. "Two points, Freshman. Get back in line."

My fist visibly shaking I forced myself to back up slowly and fade to the farthest edge of the group. As I went, eyes and whispers followed me and I wanted nothing more than to plant my fist in that smug son of a bitch's face as he stood there beside the Commander, acting like her right-hand man.

He never did take his place back in the crowd, more like he hovered just on the edge but closer to the commander than the anyone else, separating himself as if he would rather not associate with us. Then I realized that he must be the Commander's favorite. Golden boy, as it were, and I was overcome by a deep loathing, far exceed that of that I had felt for Renji up until recently.

Renji had hurt me in an otherwise fair fight. That was far less damage than the embarrassment that his asshole had forced on me.

Before she dismissed us she thanked everyone for all of the hard work and efforts, though I had a feeling that the sentiment didn't extend to all the way over to little old me at the back as I slowly detached myself from the crowd, edging closer and closer to the edge of the Belltower.

She assured that if she needed any more help with the mission, she would call on us. I couldn't have escaped from there faster. I flashed away as fast as my legs could carry me before the word "dismissed" left her mouth.

As I sprinted back to my room through the shadows, I couldn't stop myself from replaying the encounter in my mind. I had to grit my teeth to stop myself from screaming and pausing to kick something in rage.

How dare she make an example of me like that, treating me like I'd done something wrong. Not even a thank you or a well done for getting the info which she didn't even read! Just a verbal lashing of disapproval. Probably because golden-boy had the same idea as me and she wanted him to have the full glory for successfully swiping from the formidable Head-girl, of all targets.

But if I hadn't distracted Kanisawa I knew he wouldn't have had the opportunity to swipe those papers. She would have had no need to rush to the medical center for her injured friend if I hadn't have executed my accidental distraction and probably would have stayed to do paperwork all night before locking it away somewhere safe. They should have been thanking me!

But there was no use trying to reason with people so high and mighty. People like that would never be accepting of a little newbie like me, and that hurt.

I wanted nothing more than to be accepted as being good at something, and the one thing I thought I'd got that no one else had... The one thing that I had always been good at doing all my life and they shot me down like a bird in the sky without a care in the world.

I felt water at the edges of my eyes and blinked it away, determined not to let the disappointment get on top of me.

If I wasn't good enough, I would just keep trying until I was so good that they could no longer dismiss me.

I would become the best. Faster, smarter, stronger.

Yet another sleepless night awaited me, though it was becoming the norm now; If I hadn't been overthinking the Commander's dream-shattering words during my involuntarily waking hours perhaps I would have gotten up for school that morning feeling nothing more than a little groggy.

But no. I couldn't just be a bit sluggish, I had to rise in a disgustingly foul mood. Just the look I gave Momo when she asked if I was okay was enough to make her squeak and duck into her bedroom in case I started growing demon horns.

Waking up on the wrong side of the bed was not a good start to a day that was only going to get worse before it could get better, but I was more than ready take my anger out on the next person that so much as looked at me in the wrong way.

Without our usually morning chattiness we got ready and I led the way downstairs, stomping as if the floorboards had creaked one too many times and deserved punishment.

Renji and Kira were waiting in the entrance hall now that they knew they weren't going to be crucified for entering... But if Renji dared say one wrong word to me while I was this mad, crucifixion would be the least of his worries.

Before he could even open his mouth, however, Kanisawa and a group of friends appeared out of nowhere to block our path to the exit.

"Good morning, Head-girl!" Momo cheered sweetly.

"Can I help you?" I asked simply, trying to tone down my attitude especially for her, considering the situation I put her in last night.

"Oh, spare me. You know what I want-" she spat looking down at me like I was a piece of dirt on her perfectly shined shoe.

My heart did a somersault. Did she know what I'd done? "Excuse me? I don't think I'm following," I said blankly playing dumb.

She tsked and rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that crap, I know what you did and you know too, now hand over my paperwork!"

My heart dropped to my feet. Holy crap, this was bad.

At that point, Kira and Renji had joined our side of the standoff like imposingly tall bodyguards on either side and a considerable crowd of onlookers was gathering.

"Paperwork? The only paperwork I have is study notes. Now if you'll excuse me, I have classes to get to."

I tried to shove past her, but she and her girlfriends moved to block me. The fuse of my short temper, already frayed from lack of sleep, fizzled down a little more than a candle wick and I felt the heat in my face rising.

"I don't have your damn paperwork."

"Like I'm going to believe that. Show me your books" she demanded, arms crossed in stern defiance.

"Are you serious?" I snapped angrily.

"Kana... Don't you think this is a bit... extreme?" One of her friends pleaded but Kanisawa had a desperate glint in her eyes that told me she would do anything in her power to retrieve what she had lost.

"Shut up, Ishiki! I'm not an idiot, I know she took it! Where else could it have gone!?"

"But Kana... You took the paperwork upstairs with you after Miss Murasaki went to bed..." Another girl pointed out

Kanisawa didn't answer for a moment but her lip quivered as if she was looking for justification. "She has something to do with it, I know it!"

"Maybe you should back off now" Renji suggested forcefully, pushing in front of Rukia and I protectively.

My heart leaped again but out of surprise and gratitude. After what happened last night Renji suddenly looked like an absolute gentleman and really not that bad. I never expected him to act so selflessly, jumping to my defense against someone who could make his life a living hell. Maybe he was capable was being a friend after all.

"Renji, it's okay. I have nothing to hide, she can see for herself." I said pushing in front of him.

In front of the whole crowd, I removed my sword bag, laid it on the floor and unsheathed both swords to prove that neither Ruby nor Onyx had anything concealed in their sheaths.

Then I did the same for my book bag, flicking through each book to prove nothing was in-between the pages.

"There. Satisfied now, Head-girl?" I snapped as I finished with the last book, putting a mocking emphasis on her title, just to point out to all of the onlookers that the person doing this was someone we were supposed to respect and look up to, but here she was acting like the school bully on a little defenseless freshman.

I glared at her, waiting for her permission to pack my things away.

To my astonishment, she looked yet more furious than before. "Tomoe. I want you to go to the Admin office as apply for a warrant to search Murasaki's apartment. She will not be allowed to return until the search is complete. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes Ma'am!" The girl replied looking flustered by such an extreme order.

"What?!" Rukia yelled.

"Us too?!" Momo squeaked.

"You can't do that, they've done nothing wrong," Kira said.

"This is ridiculous!" I argued balling my good fist and stepping forward with my injured hand raised to her face. Renji grabbed me by the upper arms and held me back, thinking I was about to lose it and slap her or something. "I bumped into you because I have an injury and I lost my balance on the stairs. I did jack shit to your stupid paperwork and you know it! You're just punishing me for a genuine accident that I did apologize for… I even offered to help you!" I said while pulling my bandages back to prove the dirty great scar running from thumb to wrist was very real. I hoped that my act came across as believable.

"SILENCE." she bellowed, and the room grew deadly still. "I won't have another word from you until I have proven your innocence personally. Now get to class before I change my mind and take you into custody." Their room stayed motionless. "That goes for the rest of you too!"

Almost comically, everyone appeared to come back to life and headed for the exit like ants escaping a fire.

"You won't find anything, Kanisawa. You're wasting your time on me." I said calmly once the initial indignity of the situation had passed.

"We'll see about that." Kanisawa and her posse stormed out, leaving my friends and me alone to repack my bags.

"What a bitch..." Renji muttered picking up my Onyx and turning it over in his hands, weighing it up with interest. "Why would someone jump to such conclusions over stupid paperwork?"

"It must have been important for her to react like this..." Kira pondered.

"I don't know, but it was a bad time for her to pick a fight... In case you didn't notice I'm not in the best of moods."

"Wait, did you say you fell down the stairs?" Rukia asked frowning. "Is that what you meant last night by Kanisawa being annoyed at you?"

I nodded glumly. "I didn't mean to. I tripped, dropped my books and fall backward on top of them. Though her friend hit her head pretty hard so I'm guessing that her problem. She's taking it out on me as if I did it intentionally"

"But it was an accident... Surely that's obvious…"

"You try telling her that. I'm guessing the papers she dropped in the floor were the ones she lost and I was the last person to go near them, so of course, I'm public enemy number one."

I was getting good at all of these little white lies. I didn't once let the idea that I could have anything to do with it occur to them. None of them suspected a thing.

"Screw her then. When she searches your room she'll know it wasn't you and she'll leave you alone" Renji said.

"I doubt she'll leave me be just like that, but fingers crossed."

I thanked my lucky stars that I hadn't been instructed to report to the Commander another night, else I'd have been caught red-handed with stolen goods and would probably be sleeping in a jail cell tonight.

One thing was for certain, whatever those files described was something of deep importance, which I gathered just from scanned over them last night, but Kanisawa seemed like her life depended on retrieving them. Naturally sensitive information like that couldn't be left lying around for only school kid to spread around the school like rumors, so she had to act harshly. But hopefully, my tracks were covered well enough to free me from suspicion.

We arrived at homeroom just as Onabara began to loudly question our absence.

"Sorry we're late, Sir!" Momo apologized, panting as she led our group to the empty row at the back of the class.

"Slight altercation, Sir" I grimaced as I passed his desk.

"We got held up on our way to class" Rukia elaborated as she entered behind me.

"We promise It won't happen again, Sir" Kira finished and Renji followed silently at the back.

"Very well. If it happens again, I'll be having Abarai's tattoos extended to form a map of the school." He said dryly making Renji blush and the rest of the class cringe and snicker. It was the first day that he hadn't worn his bandana to school and he was probably regretting that decision. "Oh and welcome back Murasaki. Have you healed?"

"Not entirely, Sir," I said holding up my bandaged hand. I'd ditched the sling in favor of plain bandages, but I did intend to go to the medical center after school to ask for some kind of protective cast, in case of any accidents.

"Well then, in that case, I suppose you'd better have someone help you with your assignments until you've healed fully. Mister Abarai-" he yelled, so abrupt that some of my classmates bounced in their seats. Renji's head snapped up with a look of dreaded understanding.

"No Sir, please-" he began to plead but it was too late. Onabara was already on a roll.

"Seeing as you were late for roll call, didn't offer an apology like your classmates and you have a uniform violation-" he said pointedly pausing to look at his tattoo's "AND you're the one who caused this mess in the first place it only seems fair that you should be the one take the punishment. I want you to complete all of Murasaki's written tasks for her until she is able to hold a pen again- NO IFS AND BUTS." He shouted as Renji began to stutter out an argument.

"And that doesn't mean you get out of your own assignments! I want both completed to a high standard and handed into your teachers before the end of every class or YOU will stay behind until both are complete." He said jabbing a finger through the air at Renji. "Do I make myself clear?"

"I can't do both! There are not enough hours in a day!"

"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR, MISTER ABARAI!?" Renji flinched and finally gained the sense to bite his tongue and roll with it.

"Yes, Sir…"

"Good. Now, on that note, I have a nice long section for you all to read on how to spot an imminent hollow attack, starting from Chapter 4 in your textbooks. I want at least three thousand words to summarize it handed into me during your next theory class tomorrow morning so we can discuss. Until then, have a good day. Dismissed"

Renji practically bulldozed past me almost knocking me down the stairs in his efforts to get out of the class before everyone else. I snorted a laugh. "About time karma came to bite him on the butt. Does that count as points?" I asked Kira curiously.

"Fraid not. Not unless Onabara is climbing onto the scoreboard."

"Damnit. I guess I can still rub it in his face, especially since he can't disobey a teachers order. I can piss him off as much as I like and he has to suffer" I grinned maliciously.

"Murasaki-" Onabara called from behind as we reached the door behind the rest of the class.

"Wait for me," I told the others and turned back. "Yes, Sir?"

Out of his desk drawer, Onabara pulled very official looking envelope and handed it to me. "This is yours until the medical center officially discharges you. No overdoing it, any problems and this pass will let you leave class to be examined."

"Thank Sir, I can't bear to hold a sword like this right now"

"Well, If it makes you feel better Abarai won't be allowed to handle any weapons for a while either, so everyone is safe for now." He grimaced. I would have laughed too if the idea of fighting him didn't still make my scar twinge. "Heal fast and have a good day"

"Fucking uniform violation my ass." Renji cursed loudly as we headed to History, earning a solid punch in the ribs from Rukia.

"I did try to warn you~" she sang knowingly.

"No, you tried to make me feel guilty about vandalizing my own skin. Bullshit does the uniform code say anything about tattoo's!"

"Actually, it does." Momo corrected him. "It specifically says that only certain accessories related to studies are permitted. Like hair ties, sweatbands and protective clothing. Tattoo's and visible marking unless authorized by a high-ranking clan or noble family also come into that category." She said, spouting the regulations almost word for word.

"Thank you, human guidebook." Rukia nodded respectfully.

I couldn't help but feel smug at Renji's newest sentence, and I intentionally kept my shiny new lanyard in plain sight around my neck on the outside of my uniform for the rest of the day just to rub it in a bit that I was getting special treatment.

What confused me, however, was the fact that I wasn't even left-handed, which was where my injury was. I could write perfectly fine with my right hand and I wasn't sure what made Onabara think I was left-handed, but either way, I wasn't about to complain about a free excuse to put my feet up while stupid over there did all of the work for me.

I was gonna enjoy it while it lasted, as long as I could keep up my charade that I was a suffering leftie.

My day had felt more bearable with the workload taken off my shoulders, I even managed to get through History without wishing I could throw myself out of the second story window even once. Then I remembered the imminent investigation due to be forced upon our apartment this evening and my anxiety returned.

Sure enough, on our way to lunch, Kanisawa strode up to me, shoved a formal looking wax sealed envelope into my chest and walked away without offering an explanation.

"Whoa. This looks official…" I said, tearing off the seal that bared the academies coat of arms. "Warrant for the search of a residence. Subject: Murasaki, Kimiko (A*), First year, Emerald Plateau, Floor 1, Door number 16. Time of search: 20:00. Estimated duration: 1 hour. Search to be conducted by the Student Disciplinary Enforcement Team."

"She's really doing it..." Momo muttered looking concerned as she read the note over my shoulder.

"I doubt she'll touch your stuff, it's me they've got it in for and they won't find a thing. It's no big deal, honestly" I tried to console her.

Then Renji made a valid point. "If she thinks your hiding something, she'll think that you'd keep it away from your own stuff…"

Momo and Rukia looked gravely between then back at their untouched plates as if their appetites had left the building entirely.

I tsked loudly. "Do you mind? I'm trying to keep us positive here!"

He shrugged. "Just being realistic. I hope you've got nothing to hide, Sis" he snickered before taking a bite out of my uneaten apple tart. I glared at him and swiped the chocolate mousse from his plate.

"Both Momo and I are squeaky clean, thank you very much. It's you who should be worried, in case she comes after you next."

He nearly choked on the tart. "Me? Why would she come after me?"

"Well, following your rationale, if Kanisawa cannot find what she wants with us she will check our closest friends next in case the items have been hidden away from our home. That means you two-" she said explained jabbing two fingers at the boys.

"Let her. She'll only find my homework." Kira smiled.

Renji gulped and scratched his guiltily. "I should go probably tidy my room…"

True to her word, Kanisawa arrived in the Emerald dorms just before eight. A group of onlookers who had either witnessed this morning's bust-up or heard the exaggerated stories floating around campus had gathered, probably in the hopes of getting front row seats if drama kicked off again.

Apparently, Kira heard someone in his Newspaper club meeting just after dinner say that I had planted my fist in her jaw and shattered her nose. Incredible how things got blown out of proportion so quickly. Of course, I had fantasies of doing very similar things but I valued my place at this school too much to actually lose my temper.

I was cornered in the study lounge by a few of the investigating Disciplinary Team members and explicitly warned to stay downstairs where everyone could see me so I couldn't interrupt the proceedings, and that If I did try to interrupt I would be charged with attempting to sabotage to search.

I had no problem with that. I made it perfectly visible that I was not worried in the slightest, lying there with my feet up on the sofa, a good paranormal novel that I'd found on the public shelves that lined the room hovering above my face, a hot chocolate I'd requested Kira to bring on his way over from his club meeting sitting on the poof beside me while I dictated what Renji should write about in my essay for Onabara. I acted completely oblivious to the faint sounds of bumps and bangs on the floor above.

Truthfully, I wanted nothing more than to run up there and scream for them to be gentle with my stuff, but I managed to hold back and keep my solid facade of calm composure; Though secretly I was fantasizing about the day I would get a nice shiny Zanpakuto just like Kanisawa's and I could skewer her with it.

Renji and Kira sat with us until long after the estimated time of the search, almost until curfew. Apparently, they wanted to hang around in case the lost my temper and needed someone to pull me off Kanisawa's dead body. But thankfully I didn't.

We managed to finish our essays, in which we wrote about how hollows showing signed of hunting down prey and ways to lure them into an ambush and made a start on reading for the next Kido spell we would be learning, a shield spell called Repulse that blocked and rebounded a certain point of impact on the body.

After just under two hours one of the seniors in the Disciplinary Team approached me to hand over my keys and thank me for my patience and cooperation before leaving.

I spotted Kanisawa storming out of the building like a bat out of hell in the background and couldn't help but smile that I had completely thwarted her. We thanked the boys for sticking around and for the good study session and they left with only fifteen minutes left until curfew.

By the state of my room in particular, I didn't doubt the mutterings I had heard from folks who had been upstairs during the raid, talking about things hitting walls and the sound of things shattering. The swine's hadn't even bothered to pick my fallen chair off the floor, let alone fix the curtains they'd ripped down, or clean the shattered cookie jar off the kitchen floor.

"Anyone would think they were looking for a bomb or something..." Momo said in disbelief as she peered over what was once a reasonably clean room.

"Don't even joke, she might hear and take you seriously." I snarled angrily, nudging a pile of clean clothes to one side.

"Well, they obviously didn't find what the were looking for," Rukia said holding up a note that had been left pinned to my door.

"Search complete. Result: Inconclusive" I read aloud. "'Result: Negative and an apology would have been nice" I huffed. "How the hell am I supposed to fix all the stuff they trashed!"

"It's okay, we'll help you clean and maybe we can get maintenance here tomorrow to fix stuff," Momo said crouching to pick my creased uniform from the floor and hang it on my closet door.

So, I endured yet another long night but the girls stayed with me until we could at least see the floor and not step in broken glass anymore.

From that day on I felt like I was under constant scrutiny. I wasn't sure who exactly was in Kanisawa's pocket, but I had this odd feeling that many of the seniors were keeping tabs on me throughout the school day, and even in free time and weekends. I always seemed to have someone on my tail. Always that uncomfortable feeling of eyes on the back of my neck. It had their desired effect I guess. I had no choice but to behave myself in public and try not to draw any attention to myself just in case someone pounced and planted a shiny new detention slip on my head.

The situation didn't stay calm for long though and I soon lost that stupid illusion of Renji being a nice guy after all.

The more Renji and I were forced to work together, the more heated our disagreements got. We started to argue constantly about the most stupid, insignificant things. The problem was that we were so similar and yet so different at the same time. We both had short tempers and we both wanted everything to go our way, but I was the one with the brain and he was the one with the pen in his hand.

He usually didn't understand all of the advanced language and terminology I wanted to use so he would reword it to make it sound completely dumb like a ten-year-old had written it, or he would make me explain the meaning of a long word and write it in a simplified way. For example Stinky instead of putrid when I wanted to explain how to detect a hollow by its foul stench.

Numerous times had the urge to cancel my leftie act and snatch the pen off him to cross out his horrendous, scribbly handwriting that no one on the planet could make out unless they'd had ten shots of vodka.

It was like being forcibly attached to an annoying little brother for ninety percent of your time; somehow our little arguments which were mostly self-contained and none-disruptive to the classes had gotten back to Kanisawa on this suspiciously senior-shape grapevine.

"How hard is it just to write down exactly what I say?"

"It would be easier if you didn't try to sound like you'd swallowed a damn dictionary. You're not royal so quit trying to sound smart"

"Oh, well, until now iv been the snobby rich kid, but now I'm faking it, am I? At least I can spell 'Idiot!"

"Guys, cut it out already-" Rukia said elbowing me as we sat together in the lounge one evening as usual. I looked up and sure enough, there was Kanisawa standing in the doorway with a crowd of her followers, glaring at me with beady brown eyes narrowed.

My temper flared. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that studying was a crime!" I shouted over.

She smiled as if I had just handed her preloaded ammunition. A moment later she finished writing out a shiny new pink slip from the pad she had taken to carrying around in her pocket for our frequent encounters, and sure enough, it appeared under our door the next morning, summoning me to a brief and completely unreasonable detention with Onabara.

My only rest came of nighttime when the five of us went our separate ways, but even when the boys departed and the arguments temporarily ceased I couldn't entirely relax downstairs with Kanisawa lurking over my shoulder like she was waiting for me to make a wrong move in public.

Thankfully the arguments only lasted a week. Eventually, I made a slight boo-boo and let my leftie act slip.

Renji was taking so long to write one paragraph and he had spelled at least six of the words so illegibly wrong that when he turned away to ask Kira something I snapped up the pen and corrected them, but unfortunately he caught me literally red handed.

With a face like a volcano about to erupt he stood up and dragged me by my collar to the front of the class, he picked up the lanyard hanging at the front of my uniform and flashed it to Onabara who looked up, taken aback by this odd behavior.

"Sorry Sir, but Murasaki needs to see the nurse right away." And he frog-marched me from the room.

He deposited me down in a chair in the waiting room and stormed to the reception desk, angrily demanding that I see a nurse immediately.

He didn't look at me when he left but a little while later the same nurse that had helped me before arrived to give me a check-up.

She checked my hand over and confirmed at one of my muscles had a slight tear that was still causing pain. I asked if she could just fully heal it in this session so I could get on with my life and she agreed that I'd had enough resting time since my last healing session.

An hour later, Cultivation class was coming to an end and I waited outside for the others to finish instead of barging in and breaking everyone's concentration a few minutes earlier, which I'm sure Onabara wouldn't appreciate. My hand was now fully healed, though I'd requested to keep the bandages to cover the ugly scar until I could go and buy some gloves on the weekend.

The only downside was that the nurse had given me another week resting time to make sure I didn't undo the healing with too much exertion, so I was back to square one of not being able to do anything.

"All done?" Momo asked brightly.

I balled my hand and wiggled my fingers. "Yep. It's healed, I still have to take it easy for a few more days though." I said sadly.

"That's better than nothing! You can start getting back to normality,"

"And you can do your own damn writing now, cheating little snot." Renji hissed refusing to look at me.

"Oh, get over it. You caused the pain, you take the blame. Simple rules of punishment, Renji. Be a man and suck it up."

A/N: Hi again! Thanks to all of the recent favs and the couple of reviews, glad to see people are sticking with me on this. I'm building up to the "big event" in the next couple of chapters. I have the next 4 in draft and hope to have the Academy arc done with by around chapter 40, give or take. So averaging around 20 chapters per arc. There's gonna be a little bit more fluff and fillery stuff but what anime kid doesn't do fun stuff in school while they're young? ?

Please feel free to drop reviews/suggestions/feedback or even point out my usual grammar mistakes. It really makes my day to read them 3


	33. Auditions

**Chapter 33 - Auditions**

 ** _* The pendulum ticks forward 3 weeks *_**

It had been almost a month since I moved to the academy, but it strangely felt like yesterday and forever at the same time. Time was flying by rapidly and yet I was so close to my friends and so deeply engaged with my studies that it was hard to imagine how quiet my life must have been before this journey began, despite that only being a few weeks ago.

Everyone else had vastly improved. Rukia and Momo were getting a lot out of their club activities, easily making Renji and I look like kids in Kido, but almost on par with Kira. Though they were still very much beginners with the physical classes leaving the sparring matches to me and the boys while they followed the teacher's instructions.

Momo continued to get better in her culinary classes and frequently brought home snacks for me to "sample" (aka my second dinner).

Rukia was still terrible at drawing even with the Arts & Crafts club gathering twice a week, but she was absolutely convinced that her "masterpieces", little bunny rabbits that looked more like clouds with wonky eyes, would make her famous one day. I didn't have the heart to tell her that we were laughing at her, not with her when she brought her doodles home and plastered them all over her bedroom walls like a proud toddler.

Kira almost always had his nose in a book, determined to stay at the top of every class, and had become very involved with his newspaper club and accompanying literature club. He had taken to carrying a notepad everywhere with him to make observations of events around campus that he could later turn into articles in the weekly paper. They were admittedly really well written, interesting and informative, and his seniors had been so impressed they had given him a camera to take photos to go with his stories.

Renji was still a slacker but admittedly he was getting better at his own pace. Today he was due to be released from his detentions so that he could finally join the Zanjutsu and Weapons clubs that already had reserved places in. Until now he had been a thorn in my side, lurking around like a bad smell while everyone else was busy. At least I had recently managed to sit down and have an intelligent conversation with him that had not resulted in me wanting to snap his neck, which was an improvement.

Then there was me. With the return of the use of my hand came all of the enthusiasm and determination I had started with. The small amount of time I had not been able to train felt like an eternity that had given the others time to catch up to my skill level. I felt left behind at first, but I quickly stopped feeling so distracted and found the energy to join in once again, showing them how it was done.

I ignored the nurse's order to rest for longer. There was no way in hell I could sit around anymore, but I wasn't actually allowed to join a club until the resting time had passed, but even then my worst fear came: I was put on a waiting list. I was left clubless for another few weeks while they waited for someone to drop out.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot I could do until then. The library was still completely off-limits to the students but I managed to get in on the black market book trade that had started up among those of us who were desperate for reading material… and for those sneaky individuals who were out to earn a little pocket money.

So finally, just before my deadline, I managed to get my spiritual energy at a consistently controllable level and rejoin my class for mediation every afternoon without giving my classmates frostbite. I still hadn't managed to catch that aggravating little ice crystal that was always floating around while I meditated, but at least I could now condense my energy as a sharp sphere in my palm and not a massive out of control whirlwind that threatened to blow the roof off.

And it was all thanks to Momo's little study group which we had made a nightly occurrence… unless everyone else had a club meeting, then it was just Renji and I and we either tried to suffer each other's company for an hour or headed straight to bed.

I felt much more confident after that, knowing that I can do things if I put my mind to them and stop procrastinating. So, with a new spring in my step, I roped the others into joining me for my morning run, which was conveniently part of Renji's punishment from Master Dao anyway. He was being forced to run laps around campus every day before classes with Master Dao standing by timing him until he was satisfied, so we decided to join him as a way to keep him focused and for us to get fit which was always fun, especially as the mornings were getting brighter and earlier and the cherry blossoms were now blooming all over campus.

And the arrival of the blossoms meant one thing: My birthday!

Sure enough, the mail had arrived last week with the musical instruments from my family, along with a box of gifts from the villagers, snacks from my sister and a huge birthday cake with the academy symbol iced on it.

Trust my family to go all out as usual. I wasn't sure how I managed to carry out all upstairs. The packages were so large that they didn't even bother to drop them near the mail lockers just off the assembly hall but instead plonked then just inside the doorway of the entrance hall and left a note under my door.

A sealed letter in a textured lilac envelope with our family crest, an eight-petaled cherry blossom, stamped in purple wax sat on top of the boxes.

 _Dear Kimi,_

 _It's great to hear from you finally! You know me all too well, I was indeed getting worried, but I figured you were probably just too consumed in your studies. It warms my heart to hear that you made such good, reliable friends so quickly. You should bring them to visit someday, we would be delighted to host them._

 _Everyone at home is doing fine. I have been super busy too having taken up your share of the chores around the village as well as my own._

 _Hatsu has been away from home a lot recently. He mentioned having business to attend to in the first district? I'm not sure if you know about this?_

 _Our parents are doing well as always._

 _Thank you for the gifts, they're adorable!_

 _I know it's a little early, but we decided to send your requested items and your birthday gifts together as we weren't sure if they would make it by the 28th._

 _Keep up the good work and keep in touch, we're all so proud of you._

 _Hope to hear from you soon, much love from Yuu and the family xxx_

Reading that message made my heart soar and put me in a wonderful mood, but it did make me curious as to what Hatsu was up to. He never mentioned anything about having business away from home, especially in Soul Reaper town; But I didn't have time to reply right now so I put the letter to one side for later.

I avoided the girls that morning, locking my stuff in my room and opening my gifts alone, partly because I didn't want to make them feel bad that I had so much stuff, adding to the idea that a was a selfish, rich kid that made me so self-conscious (no thanks to Renji who kept bringing it up in arguments); but also because I didn't want them to feel obligated for them to give me a gift or spend their money on me.

I managed to get away with it and they only noticed how cheerful I was which I blamed on the glorious sunshine.

But the best gift of all came later on that Saturday afternoon.

Along with the surprise birthday delivery, I found two mysterious looking letters in my mailbox opened them after my gifts without much thought. I just assumed they were my most recent detention summons from Kanisawa. They'd become so frequent they didn't faze me anymore.

Instead, I found invitations to join the two clubs I had been shortlisted for: The Music Club and the Track & Gym club.

With excited butterflies in my stomach, I ran down to the admin office to confirm the times of my audition and tryouts.

The Track Club was set to meet around ten at the tracks and the music club later in the afternoon before dinner. The admin office advised that I didn't have to apply for both at once, but I was so full of excitement that I couldn't bear to wait a day longer.

Bouncing like a frog with a sugar overdose I literally ran with Rukia and Momo to meet the guys at the Iron dorms around the time they would usually wake up on a Saturday.

Instead of waiting patiently at the entrance like we usually would have, I bypassed the main doors and went around the side of the building overlooking a small patch of evergreens to gather up some dirt and pelt mud-pies at Renji's window on the second floor.

After the third one, he came storming out still in his sleep shorts ready to grill his attacker, then spotted the three of us standing under a shady tree.

"What the f- Oh. Should' known it'd be you. Whata'ya want, I'm trying to sleep here" he complained.

A little while back Kira had tipped me off as to where Renji's room was in the Iron dorms so I could prank him in revenge for being a jerk to me in class. This was the second time I'd gotten bored of waiting for him.

"Get off your lazy backside, we've got things to do." Rukia commanded like the bossy big sister.

"Sleep is more interesting. Try again tomorrow" he said turning to head back into his room, but I pelted him in the back with another mud-pie.

"Why you little-" he began, muck dripping down his skin onto his balcony floor.

"Don't you wanna see me fall flat on my face on the running track?" I offered a tantalizingly. Usually, the potential for him to see me fail spectacularly at something would win him over and this time was no different.

He glared down at me, trying to see if I was bluffing to lure him into another prank or not. Apparently, he decided that my excitement was legit. "This better be good." He grumbled slamming the door shut behind him.

We walked around to the front and a while later he and Kira arrived.

"What's got you so excited?" Kira asked as the two of them descended the stairs at the Iron dorm as I paced around the room fast enough to leave burn marks in the wooden floor. I held out the two letters practically ramming then in his face.

"THESE. I'm finally gonna do it!"

"Oh? Today? That's short notice" he said drawing back to get the papers away from his nose.

"I don't care, I can't take the waiting anymore! I just need to get it over with already before I lose the plot"

"You never had the plot to begin with…" Renji yawned from behind Kira out of arms reach but I ignored him, marching out of the door like an army general on a guiding the troops.

"Alright, Off we goooo!"

"Calm down, save your energy for the track!" Momo chuckled.

"I don't think she's ever gonna run out of energy. Look at her, she's like an electrocuted bunny rabbit" Rukia said rolling her eyes as I bounced up and down on my tippy toes raring to go.

The track was more crowded than it would have been during our freshman Hoho classes. Mixed year groups were loitering on the grass verges overlooking the track to watch their friends perform.

"Morning, Coach!" I said merrily as I bounded onto the green.

"Ah, morning Murasaki. I just got your invitation acceptance." He said waving an envelope similar to mine. "Are you ready to go?"

"I was born ready! Or at least three weeks ago but the nurse made me rest and then the waiting list..." I grumbled as an afterthought.

"Well, as long as you're fit enough to participate, were ready for you. Let's see if you've got what it takes."

The others wished me good luck and hurried to take seats on the grass as the coach blew his whistle and called the rest of the club over. Everyone gathered and he introduced me and explained my situation.

"Alright, Murasaki. I know full well you're capable of joining this club but as a formality, we need to put you through your paces to make sure. As I'm sure you know, there are plenty of positions in the club but only a handful of the best make it onto the actual team. The rest are more like reserves for injury. You need to be committed and prepared to exercise regularly on the track and in the gym if you want to do well here."

I nodded. I already knew this, and besides not having access to the gym I already did all of the warm-ups every morning as I had done for years.

"We'll hold a few trails. Firstly, a warm-up, then a speed test, then a timed trial, then a stamina trial and lastly a full-on race with a current team member. If you're up to standard with the other members you're in. If you're above standard your on the main team. Simple."

"No sweat! Let's do this!" I said confidently bouncing on my heels. I was used to his sort of thing. The only thing I had never really practiced was Stamina training, but I was certain I would smash the challenge anyway.

Almost an hour later I was dead on my feet and regretting my lack of preparation. Running Laps in the morning was nothing compared to this gruelling work.

As promised, they started me off with a warm-up exercise that the rest of the club joined in with too. Just standard stretches and stuff. Once my muscles were ready, they made me run a hundred-meter sprint three times, no spirit energy boosts and flash steps allowed of course, and they timed each attempt. My best was seventeen seconds and my worst twenty-three on my first attempt.

Then I had to run a four-hundred-meter lap in a set time of ninety seconds, which I failed by a fraction the first time. On my next attempt, I learned to literally cut corners to get around the track faster. Better to stay on the inside of the lanes than the outer lane.

By the time I got to the stamina trial, I was doomed. I only lasted another four laps before my legs turned to jelly and I had to stop.

Then came the race. The coach picked one of his top track stars, the girl I recognized as the redhead I had accidentally pushed down the stairs a few weeks ago, one of Kanisawa's minions.

Even though I had sworn that the events of that night were an unfortunate accident and I had sincerely apologized to her numerous times, she still seemed to hold and grudge and had the look fiery determination to win in her eyes.

The thought of her getting one over on me and spreading the story of my failure to Kanisawa riled me up and I forgot about my jelly legs. I knelt into a crouch ready to go at any second. When the coach blew his whistle and I shot off from the starting block like an arrow cutting through the air.

In less than a minute, panting and almost ready to fall over I came to an unsteady stop at the finish line. My jelly legs returned as I stopped but my friends were already there waiting to catch me. Renji was the closest and grabbed me by the elbows to stop me from falling forward.

"I thought you wanted to see me fall over?" I wheezed panting for gulps of air.

"Nah, you did too good to fail now." He smirked looking away as if he didn't want to admit he was impressed.

"You did it! That was amazing!" Momo grinned hugging me.

"Safe to say you won that one" Rukia agreed. Kira nodded and snapped a photo of me, causing me to lose my balance as the flash caught my eyes.

I went to walk away from Renji's support and nearly fell over. "Sorry... I think I need to sit down" I mumbled breathlessly feeling a bit dizzy. As I turned to see the coach, I spotted Kanisawa's friend only just coming to a stop almost a minute after me. Seems she must have given up and lost her steam after I took off. The thought of her having to admit defeat to the bitch-squad gave me great joy.

"Good job, Murasaki." The coach said approaching me with a cold bottle of water in hand. He threw it to me and I barely managed to catch it. Most of the icy soothing liquid went over my face instead of down my throat. "You're done for today. Go get some rest and we'll get back to you with our decision."

"Thank you for the opportunity, Coach. It was really fun." I said with a polite nod of a bow.

We headed back to the dorms and boys left us so I could have a nap before my next audition.

A couple of hours rest was enough to give me the energy boost I needed.

I took my second shower of the day to freshen up and we headed over to the music studio on the other side of campus. I decided only to take my own shamisen with me as the other instruments were too bulky to carry around and the club were likely to have their own anyway if they even wanted to see me play all of them.

The music room was in the performing arts building on the far west side of campus away from most of the other classrooms so as not to disturb studies that required quiet concentration. A tall white door with "Shino-o Academy Music Club" printed on a silver plaque sat in the middle of a deadly silent corridor, flanked by two blacked out windows on either side.

We stood in front of it and I stared up, feeling uncertain. "IS this definitely the right place? I don't hear anything" I asked the others. They all shrugged.

"Must be. This is the address your invitation gave" Rukia said rereading the papers. I'd appointed her as the navigational expert, seeing as she had memorized the school map off by heart weeks ago when I couldn't be bothered to.

I knocked and got no answer.

"Hey, dumbass, look up." Renji drawled boredly.

I looked up and saw a sigh way above my head that read, plain as day: "Please press the buzzer, loud music making in progress past this point."

I blushed. "Shut the hell up. It's not my fault I'm vertically challenged! Little people have no reason to look up that high!" and I jabbed the button next to the handle.

"12-10 to Kimi. Still haven't caught up yet, bro." Kira muttered quietly and I jabbed a knuckle into his arm as I pouted like a moody hamster. After a few awkward moments, the door opened to reveal a handsome, dark-haired guy standing in the shadows of the blacked out room beyond.

I froze and the hairs on my arms shot up. There were markings on his face, a tattooed number sixty-nine in dark ink.

The clear as day memory of the night of my initiation into the Stealth club came back to me. His uniform lit by moonlight, his face in shadow with the dark but illegible markings still visible... The Zanpakuto he had been holding ready to attack me before I had destroyed the library in my escape.

This was definitely the same guy, one of Kanisawa's friends. Out of mixed nerves, I stuttered a hello and averted eye contact in case he recognized me somehow.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a bored, deeply drawling tone looking bothered by the interruption.

"I... I'm here to audition" I said quickly and he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, right. You must be Murasaki. Come on in, your friends and watch too if they like." he said with a welcoming nod to them as he opened the door wide for us to enter.

Now I could already hear music coming from behind another door but it was muffled as if the wall was soundproofed.

He shut the main door behind us and let us into the next area which was in darkness.

"Sorry If it looked like no one was home. We keep the lights off in the entrance so people don't get the urge to come knocking or peering through our windows. We like our privacy, ya know-"

As the door opened the music came flooding through crisp and loud.

The room was large as open. On one side was a small stage, beneath that a few chairs laid out in rows. On the far back of the room that looked like a small orchestra set up with chairs and book stands left unattended. Over the other side was a small lounge full of tables, sofas and bean bags with groups of students relaxing with snacks and instruments in their laps.

Branching off were smaller recording rooms, private practice rooms, and a few unlabelled doors.

I looked around in awe. This was everything I could have wanted, and I knew that if they let me in I would be spending a lot of time here.

"Go take a seat and be with you in a minute." The guy said wandering off to talk to the gathered members.

The idea of performing in front of so many people made me want to cry. The most I had ever managed was five members of my family in one room.

As he flitted around the room people stopped what they were doing and gathered to take seats in front of the small stage. Once they were taken they lined the walls as hovered in the background, some looking annoyed at the interruption and some waiting expectantly.

"Guys… I can't do this…" I whimpered, my legs feeling wobblier than they were after running miles on the track this morning.

"Nonsense! You'll be fine!" Rukia assured picking up my hands in hers. "Look at me. Just pretend they're not there. Or pretend that they are us."

"That's right. You would be more comfortable playing for us, right?" Momo agreed.

"Yeah… but… id freak out more if there were like fifty Rukia's and Momo's!"

"Then imagine them as vegetables. There's no need to be nervous if they're all carrots and potatoes. Or look past the crowd at the wall" Kira tried to rationalize but that filled my mind with really bizarre images of life-size veg in school uniforms sitting on chairs, which did help at all as I had a slight veggie phobia anyway.

"I'm doomed!" I whaled turning around towards the exit but Renji blocked me and steered me back.

"I never took you to be a coward." He mocked.

"I am not a coward!" I said indignantly.

"Then get up there and show them what you're made of. You did just fine in front of all of those people on the track. What's the difference here?"

Before I could refuse the leader called out again.

"Alright Murasaki, come on over." My friends had to stay behind me to make sure I picked my feet up one after the other until I was standing next to the stage.

"My name is Shuhei, I'm the Academy's Head Boy, the head of Iron dorm and manager of the Music Club." He said nodding politely to Kira and Renji who he evidently knew from the dorms.

That explained why he was with Kanisawa on duty that night, Head Boy and Head Girl doing their rounds together when trespassers were reported. It made sense now. I had to be careful of this guy, but at least I knew his face now.

"Just a few things before we go ahead. The music club is an open all hours official academy organization, that means members will be expected to participate in academy events and performances such as parties, parades, concerts, festivals, and all that jazz. We all have our own key code to enter the studio and practice whenever we like, though you'll be expected to attend at least once a week if you're successful of course.

The audition is more of a formality to make sure to can actually play an instrument. If not, I'll just refer you to the beginner's club until you're good enough to join the big kids. Following so far?" Shuhei explained.

I nodded.

"Okay, so when you're ready you can take the stage as show us what you can play."

"I've brought my shamisen with me but I can also play the Biwa, Kokyu, and Koto if you have them?"

Shuhei nodded and called out to the room in general for someone to get them from the storeroom and set them up.

While they were busy I turned to my friends.

"Guys, I'm gonna screw up! Please don't let me make a fool out of myself" I pleaded.

"You won't, be more positive!" Rukia said shaking my shoulders.

"But there are so many people!"

"Ignore them. You heard Shuhei, you're in the kiddie's class even if you fail so no big deal" Renji shrugged trying to be helpful.

"Oh thanks, I really want to end up with a bunch of newbies" I rolled my eyes.

"Depends how good you are. We won't know till you play so quit being a wimp and get up there" he said shoving me forwards.

All the eyes were on me as I ascended the rickety wooden steps and the someone lowered the lights. I did as Kira suggested and pretended they weren't there by looking up into the bright spotlights.

"Okay, just for the record state your name," Shuhei said. A tall square faced guy who was built like a small elephant sat next to him with a clipboard, making his seat look like it was from a dollhouse.

"K-Kimiko Murasaki, first year from Emerald Plateau." I stuttered.

"Can you play songs or just the instruments?"

"I-I know a few songs that my grandmother taught me, but they're old fashioned..."

Shuhei nodded. "Doesn't matter what they are, go ahead."

"O-okay, this is called Tsumugi Uta"

I knelt down on the stage in front of the Kokyu, essentially tall a traditional Japanese violin, picked up the fiddle, closed my eyes, took a deep breath and began pulling at the strings.

They didn't seem to be expecting me to open my mouth and start signing but I kept my eyes closed in case I saw a bad reaction and lost my nerve.

I let the music carry me. This had become my favorite song just because the lyrics told the story of someone who had lost their memories but still had music to keep them going. It felt so relatable and I'd made sure to learn all the different parts of the song a long time ago.

By the time I was finished I was afraid to open my eyes in case everyone had been put to sleep. These traditional instruments had a beautiful sound but they weren't exactly exciting for those who weren't into that style.

I hazarded opening my eyes just a wink and found that some of the audience were muttering quietly and some were still watching me with interest. Shuhei was talked to the big guy next to him in hushed whispers, and my friends, like embarrassing parents, were standing off to the side silently cheering and clapping. Kira caught a little slip of paper that came whizzing out of the bottom of his camera and added it to the others in his pocket. Had he been snapping pictures this whole time? I cringed inwardly.

I let out a sigh of relief. It had been a while once I last played the Kokyu and I felt a little rusty so it probably hadn't been the best idea to play it first. But I wasn't been pelted with fruit and being booed off stage, so that was a good sign.

Shuhei finally looked up from his conversation and smiled warmly.

"Alright. Would you like to play the others too?" He asked as if giving me a choice to say no.

I agree and one by one I played a quick tune on the other three just to demonstrate that I could.

There was a polite smattering of applause when I finished and Shuhei stood up looking pleased. I could tell his mind was working overtime... He seemed a little distracted.

"Well there's no question that you're good enough," He nodded decisively. "Welcome to the club Murasaki," he said with a bright smile.

My heart leaped out of my mouth. "I'm in? Just like that? That easy?"

"As I said, we only need to know what you're not a beginner and clearly you're not. Looks like you're multitalented with instruments so I'd be glad to have you aboard. We may even be able to teach you how to play a few more modern instruments too."

"Thank you! Thank you so much! You have no idea how long I've been looking forward to this!"

Shuhei laughed. He seemed so much more laid back than Kanisawa and I much preferred manner of speaking to people than hers.

"I love your enthusiasm, kid. I'm gonna go get your key code and all that stuff ready. Stick around if you like, or you can stop by tomorrow if that's better?"

"I'll pop back after dinner, I was so nervous I forgot to eat…" I said rubbing my stomach pains away.

"Alright, catch you later then" he waved before wandering off through a door marked "Private access only".

And we left. I literally bounced down the corridor squealing out of excitement and Rukia had to catch me when I jump on her for a hug.

"I did it!"

"Yes, you did, well done!"

"You were so good Kimi, why didn't you tell us you were so good!?" Momo demanded.

"I just never thought much of it. It's just a hobby I picked up when I was little..."

"When was that, yesterday?" Renji mumbled as an admittedly well-placed jab about my height, and I brought my elbow back into his rib.

"12-11 to Kimi. Step up it, Renji" Kira announced.

We ignored the boys high fiving. "Well, you were great! And you got a private introduction to THE Shuhei" she said dreamily.

"Hmmm, is that good or something?"

Momo nearly choked. "Good!? Have you been living under a rock? That's awesome! He's like the campus heartthrob, the most popular boy in school and you get to be in the same club as him! So many girls would kill for that!"

"Iv never heard of the guy... But he is kinda good looking...I guess? Maybe it's the tattoo" I mused thoughtfully.

"It could be, he's got that whole bad boy thing going on and who doesn't like bad boys" Rukia justified and I nodded approvingly.

Renji let out a very forced, pointed cough.

"Uh, No. That doesn't work for you. Yours are cool, not smokin'. They're in a different league my friend, tooootally different league."

The poor boy looked destroyed, even Kira didn't have the heart to give me a point for that one.

"Fine. Enough perving over the Head Boy already" Renji snapped after a few moments recovery, swatting the current topic away like a bad smell.

"Spoilsport." Rukia pouted.

"You owe us a private concert anyway, Kimi, as atonement for keeping your talent secret" Kira laughed.

"Yeah I'd prefer to have some music playing while we study, I might get more work done" Renji agreed.

"I'll try anything to make you guys quit slacking. Just let me make sure I can't get arrested for playing music in public just in case you-know-who jumps me." I grinned.

A/N: I'm back again~ It's amazing that I've managed to draw a bit of fanart AND upload a chapter all in one day, I must be coming down with something lol  
Just a little bit of filler fluff to build up to the main event. I have the next three chapters in the spell checker ready to upload but I'm not gonna rush them unless you guys ask me to?  
Enjoy, Feel free to leave your reviews and suggestions, I'll make sure to reply ^^

Also if anyone wants to hear the song she sings it's called Tsumugi Uta (Spinning Song) – Yamai Cover on YT uploaded by Chutikarn Wongcharnkij, though the Vocaloid versions have English subs. It's the song that gave me the idea for Kimi to be a musician :3

Gwynevere Whisper & puritygirl2005 – I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Stick with it, its only gonna get better 3

3rdSeatofSquad2 – Spot on as always! Kimi would never stand a chance against Byakuya, but when did the odd's ever stop her trying? Let's say that is the start of a temporary decline and a very sour relationship with the Kuchiki's.  
Yep, shes gonna be part of all of that stuff in one way or another. Kimi won't be there with Rukia when she is on duty in the world of the living and meets Ichigo, but she will be part of Rukia's surveillance, tracking and capture. And she will have a run-in with the Shiba's soon enough who will be close to her.  
Not sure if I answered your previous question somewhere, but I plan on taking this the whole way and possibly further. I have plans to delve deeper into the existence of hollows and how they came to be all sorts of other original backstory that's floating around in my brain. But that'll tie in waaaay later on, so hold on tight. Not gonna spoil anymore for you but I have everything you mentioned planned out :P


	34. Uneasy Feelings

Chapter 34 – Uneasy Feelings

I kept my promise of performing for them that night. Instead of going to the hall for dinner snuck in and smuggled pizzas out and them back to our apartment, where the guys then came in through my bedroom window, again, and we had a study night to finish our most recent essay for weapons training.

"If you had a Zanpakuto what type of weapon would it be and why? How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Yours would be something really annoying for sure, like a megaphone that makes peoples voices really squeaky" Renji grumbled and I kicked him under the table.

"If it was, Id make sure that the Shikai would target your voice only and keep in permanent hamster mode... Either that or id infect your ears with a really annoying song... like... I know a song that'll get on your nerves get on your nerves..." I started to sing.

"Shut the hell up already"

"The point, I think" Kira interrupted before a fight could break out "Is to make you think harder about all of the weapons you have used until this point,"

"Definitely something small then... I like lightweight weapons. The heavy ones don't suit my style," I decided.

"That's a good rationale. Then you need to expand on that, name a few of the weapons you would consider and how they differ from each other. It should be easy to get three thousand works once you started"

"You make it sound so easy, bro…" Renji groaned dropping his head back onto the seat cushion behind him.

"I am hereby employing you as my personal essay writer," I informed Kira as I peeled off a long greasy strip of melted cheese and lowered it in my mouth.

"You couldn't pay me enough. My own work is hard more than enough" he smiled.

"Well, personally I agree with Dao. A katana is a good all-around well-balanced weapon" Rukia said nibbling on a cookie from Momo's cooking class last night.

The others mumbled their agreement.

"But we can't all just say we like Katanas else it would be obvious we've copied each other. Not to mention we need to stretch that to at least one thousand words somehow..." Momo reminded her.

"Just write each word one thousand times: IIIIIII Liiiiiikkkeeee Kaaattaaannnaaaas" I joked pretending to rapidly scrawl my pen across my notebook and they all chuckled.

"Well, maybe if we had some music we would be able to think harder" Renji accused pointedly.

I tsked. I already played for them while Momo served all of the snacks we had swiped from the dining hall, but apparently, that wasn't enough for him. "What am I, your own personal bard? Iv already played for like an hour and I've got work to do too ya know… unless you're offering to start writing for again?" I grinned slyly poking him in the side to egg him on.

"Alright, fine, I get it. No music. I just can't concentrate on this crap!" He complained dropping his pen and ruffling his own hair in frustration.

"Ugh. I know. Why do we have to do these stupid things anyway? Can't we just do practical lessons all day? Writing doesn't kill hollows."

"They want to know you've been paying attention in class, that's all" Momo said dipping cheese sticks into mayonnaise.

Suddenly I realized there was only one slice of pizza left on the plate. Renji and I locked eyes and froze. "Don't. You. Dare." I hissed slowly.

"Bite me!" He said diving for the plate. But I had already burst up off pillow and swiped the plate clear off the table, ramming the last slice down my throat before he could get within an inch of it.

"In your face, Renji! I would actually bite you but I might catch something" I mumbled giving him a rude gesture with one hand while the other rammed the cheesy goodness into my mouth.

"Kimi, that's gross…" Rukia groaned backing away from me.

"No, it's not. It's freakin' delicious! Broaden your horizons Rukia, pizzas were made by the gods ya know"

"I don't think she means the Pizza…" Kira grimaced while Renji sank back onto his pillow to sulk.

I flopped back down and sank into a relaxed but slightly nauseous slouch against the sofa. "That's better. But I still don't wanna do this stupid essay"

I glanced over at the kitchen counter where my shiny new key to the music room lay next to my shamisen. All I wanted was to go there and relax, not get stuck in here with this crap, but I didn't have much choice.

The next few weeks were much of the same, our teachers dropping tests and essays on us out of the blue to make sure we were paying attention, so it was hard to find time for much else.

But when I did have a spare moment, I was either straight into the music room or hitting the gym now that I had free access with the track club.

Renji found out that I was able to take a friend with me when I invited Rukia and Momo, who both politely declined, so decided to step in and invite himself, literally turning up outside of the gym so I couldn't say no.

Thankfully he minded his own business, mainly using the weight and heavy machines on the far side of the room while I focused on increasing my stamina with the running machines, so we barely interacted.

My music club sessions started off mostly quiet until I got talking to some of the seniors who seemed open to teaching me a few new tricks in exchange for lessons on my traditional instruments. So, on the nights when the others also had club gatherings I would wander off to the secluded performing arts building to learn how to play the guitar and read sheet music.

I picked it up really quickly seeing as I already played string instrument's and this was only really a different style and sound. They taught me chords and a few basic little tunes until I moved on to playing some of the writer's own creations that they had been working on in preparation for the end of year graduation show.

"That's coming along nicely," someone said from behind me as a group of us huddled in a corner of the lounge tweaking some of the arrangements and then playing them back to test them.

I turned to see Shuhei and his giant sidekick who I learned to be the Aoga the gentle giant. I hadn't seen much of them since I joined the club, only flitting around here and there looking busy.

"Thanks! I'm learning really quick" I told him enthusiastically as I rode the sugar rush wave from the half-empty bowl of sweets on the table in front of me. "And I managed to teach some of them how to play Tsumugi Uta too! Wanna see?"

"Sure, why not. It'd good to see if we could get some new skills under our belt. We may be able to start arranging new types of shows" he said thoughtfully.

"Okay, ready guys?" I said standing up. The club boys started playing the three positions I had shown them over the last week and I started to sing. Then I took them by surprise. I'd forgotten to mention that my grandmother, who had been a Geisha in her past life, had taught me how to dance too, so when I wasn't playing and singing, I was dancing and singing instead.

I wasn't trying to show off or anything, I was just used to do it automatically with Granny Chie for all those years, but when we finished I got another loud round of applause.

Slightly taken aback and a little bit embarrassed I slowly sank down into my chair wanting to fade into the background, but Shuhei stood there staring at me deep in thought.

"Was it that bad?" I winced.

"Not at all," Aoga grunted.

"You didn't mention you could play, sing AND dance," Shuhei said accusingly.

"I didn't really think it was relevant. It's the music club, not the dance club"

"Hmmm…" he pondered. "Bear with me a while, I've got an idea." He said simply before walking away and locking himself in one of the private practice rooms.

I stared around at my peers who looked equally as confused. "Did I do something?"

"Don't mind him. He'll come back soon, he does this when he has a brainwave. It's usually a good thing." Aoga told us before he wandered off too, and no one spoke to Shuhei for at least a week. He completely removed himself from the group, only being seen entering and leaving the studio frequently but never saying a word to anyone.

I made sure to check in every day, completely mystified by his reaction and curious to see what exactly my little performance had made him think of, but day after day he stayed behind that door marked "do not disturb".

I even told my friends that I was getting worried, but they assured me that Shuhei was known for his masterful productions and had probably thought of the script for some elaborate Japanese Kabuki show or something. That idea filled me with dread. All I could do was try and forget about it and go on with my usual school life until he was ready to explain himself.

Kido gave me plenty to get my mind off of music. Madame Onigei was dropping at two new spells on us every week, as well as expecting us to spend some of our time on the archery range practicing the spells we already knew and improving our aim.

Those who were proving to be adept at spell casting, like Kira, Momo and Rukia, were already moving on to shortening their incantations, which often resulted in weaker spells but was an essential skill to learn in battle. You couldn't just ask an enemy to wait for a second while you recited some long-ass verse, that's where quick casting came in, completely cutting out or shortening an incantation. I wasn't quite at that point yet though. I was busy taking far too much pleasure in pissing off Renji.

We had already moved on from Byakurai and Sokatsu, the more basic offensive spells, and begun learning some Bakudo support spells instead. The currently spell we novices were learning was a spell that bound one's limbs to their body using large glowing yellow spikes of energy. So far Renji had failed to cast it at all, only really managing to produce a feeble spark, while I had done it twice now. The first time I could have broken out with it his little finger. The second time I put more power behind the cast and he was successfully locked into position with large yellow spikes pinning his arms to his sides.

When I turned to listen to something the teacher was saying and left him standing there in a lock, he started throwing insults at me, so I shot another Binding spell at him to lock his ankles together, causing him to trip and fall flat on his face.

As usual, the class howled at his expense and I could see him getting worked up.

"Release!" Onigei said, removing both of the bindings. "Miss Murasaki, came you please refrain from utilizing your spells as torture devices. As much as Mister Abarai deserves it, It is a punishable offense and I am in far too good a mood to be handing out detentions for excellently demonstrated techniques."

I grinned at the barely masked compliment. Onigei hated Renji ever since he blew up the classroom on the first day. She'd had it in for him ever since, so whenever I one-uped him in class she turned away to fain ignorance. "Sorry Ma'am, I'll tone it down"

"Bitch." Renji whispered after she had walked away.

"It's queen bitch to you, pineapple head." I smiled sweetly.

We had been here for a couple of months now and our rivalry was growing ever stronger. Honestly, as much as he annoyed me something, I had to admit that he was the most fun to hang around with out of our group. The others were so straight-laced and uptight, but Renji and I had my same sense of adventure and love of mischief that the others would scold us for if they witnessed it. Not to mention that, aside from studious, ambitious Kira, Renji was started to be the only person who could give me a run for my money in a fight.

Zanjustu these days was far more fun than before. Rukia and Momo were now getting quite good with their swords but very rarely had sparring matches. They were more for practicing their stances, swings and techniques with the other lower level students. But Renji, Kira and I took any opportunity we had to kick the crap out of each other.

Kira had picked up a few new tricks and come to understand my attack patterns and style very well. Renji, however, wasn't at my skill level just yet. Apparently naming his sword had had a profound effect on him. The others had all starting taking my lead in calling them Ruby, Rin, Robin, Rose and Rouge and after a short time, they seemed to become more attached to the swords and better at handling and caring for them. After he got used to referring to his sword as Rin, had picked up all of the basic techniques that he had been missing like how to hold the sword properly, other types of attacks besides his go-to downward slash his footwork improved immensely.

Before then, he had been reckless and manic in his unplanned attacks, now he was still fast with swings that were hard to judge but these days they were fully intentional, not mindless like before. He no longer lost his temper at the drop of a hat and his hours tagging along with me at the gym were making his blows increasingly dangerous.

My guard was still up from "The Accident" as we were now calling it, but sometimes when he worked himself into a frenzy I got too scared to take head-on attacks and preferred to just dodge him completely. He was truly dangerous.

We had learned a Kido called Repulse that rebounded the impact at any given point of the body, but I wasn't ready for instant cast spells or quick incantations yet, so when I knew I couldn't dodge an attack or parry in time I used more good old reliable spirit energy shield as I had done for years.

The same went for Hakuda too, though I didn't tend to spar with the boys there, seeing as they were both feet taller than me and far stronger and heavier in their build. If I tried kicking even with all of my energy behind it and punching them it would probably feel like a kitten tickling them with its tail, especially since Renji had been hitting the gym.

Id caught a glimpse of him with his uniform open and realized he was no longer a skin and bone runt from the rough side of town, he was actually forming abs and strong arm muscles, and he was definitely hitting harder as a result.

We had moved on to learning Karate and there was no way in hell I would be able to flip either of them over my shoulder. So the girls tended to separate from the boys in that class. Poor Rukia and Momo always came out black and blue once Id finished with them, though they knew I would never hurt them intentionally and it was all just good fun and practice.

Healing classes had become more interesting with our teacher, Isane of Squad 4, taking us out of the class to work on healing injured animals at the local farms once a week. It was easy enough, just mending basic injuries on the lambs and occasionally letting us watch as she set broken bones. At least now I could finally heal my own cuts and scrapes without having to rush to the nurse's office every few days.

To my astonishment, Saturday brought news that the clean of the destroyed library had finally been completed after months of being completely out of bounds to students.

I wasted no time in heading down there to go and check it out, and sure enough, over the heads of the gathered crowd of nosey, curious students I could just about gather a glimpse of the tall bookcases all standing neatly in their original positions. But there were far too many people jostling to get inside so I decided to stop by later this afternoon when the hype and queues had dissipated slightly.

I had been hoping for the opportunity to explore the stealth books without any interruptions, so I would probably head over there tonight instead of going to the studio, seeing as Shuhei was still nowhere to be seen.

We headed into town for a few hours and I treated myself to a brand new acoustic guitar. Solid, glossy dark mahogany wood with a fancy inlay pattern on the front in silver. Now I wouldn't have to spend so much of my time trying to tune the poor old battered, overworked hunks of junk that the club had in the storeroom.

When the others were distracted with placing our orders at a café on the main street I snuck away and brought myself a few useful little things for my stealth club adventures, which had been few and far between recently, and somewhat dull. I had no doubt that the Commander was still working on whatever the hell that paperwork retrieval mission had involved as she seemed completely distracted when we did meet up for very brief missions like "Find the hidden items" or "First one through all of the checkpoints in a race across campus wins!" meetings.

But I had a feeling that soon enough she would call on us with something a little more interesting. It was only a matter of time and I wanted to be prepared. I needed to be on my A-game to get on over on that smug asshole Fang.

Every time we had convened so far he had won or almost won the objective and had a habit of lording it over everyone else like he was someone special or important. Looking down on us like an ant at his feet and I was determined to prove him wrong so I made sure to kit myself out with new gear.

I brought new clothes, a new mask so that I didn't have to use a scarf anymore, a holster for my sword to hang against the small of my back so I had free hands, even a little pouch in case I ever had the need to carry projectiles. I doubted I would, but since Master Dao had brought throwing knives and needles to our attention in Weapon's classes I figured I might as well take the precaution.

I rejoined the others just as they were noticed my absence.

"Sorry guys, I left my bag back in the music shop" I apologized faking being out of breath from running.

"You're so clumsy! You really should be more careful" Momo scorned.

"I know I know. So have you ordered the food? I'm famished." I said changing the subject before they could get suspicious. Thankfully I had the sense to bring my backpack so they couldn't see what I had brought and no one seemed to notice how full it was.

We had specifically come on his shopping trip to finally share the worlds worst kept secret with the boys. The amazing ramen place that we had fallen in love with and decided to make a weekly outing. Though we later found out that Renji was not a fan of spicy foods when they got our orders mixed up and he ended up with the Chilli soup and I got his Beef miso.

He looked like he was about to burst into tears or start breathing fire and refused to eat there ever again. I hadn't laughed so much in a while and quietly began to concoct various plans for using spicy foods in pranks against him.

The day went by quickly and before I knew it I was heading to the library to check out their restricted section on the top floor. I'd never been up there personally but I happened to slip into a conversation about library books with some of the seniors at the club a few days ago, and it turned out that the top floor was specifically used to house the more advanced and potentially more dangerous books.

I doubted that the book reservation requests I had made all that time ago had even been looked at, but I didn't fancy risking being spotted on my late night illegal road trips anymore, so I had to make an effort to do some research.

It had been completely refurbished. The entrance hall had been opened up into a real reception area by removing an old unused storeroom so the main library had more space.

The shelves were all up in their usual place with books back in their rightful homes instead of in messy stacks around the room, though it seemed not all of the fixtures had been salvageable. Some had been repaired but others were clearly made of a much newer, different type of wood.

Not surprisingly the library was completely overcrowded. Most of the desk and little alcoves for study groups were already occupied. I did briefly roam around the ground floor just to admire the work they had done in refurbishing the place. It looked good as new and seemed that most of the towering units were new and much sturdier than the old ones.

I didn't find anything that looked remotely like what I was after on the lower floor, so I headed upstairs. Thankfully the library staff had their hands full with the sheer volume of people, bookings and returns so I doubted that anyone would take notice of a little first year ascending the cold metal spiral stairs past the stain glass windows up to the restricted sections.

It was colder up here and darker now that the sun had retired for the night, each row only lit by faint flickering orange gas lamps that cast most of the surrounding area into shadow. This gave the place a different, more eerie atmosphere, especially with how much quieter it was up here. The faint hum of people far below me was muffled by the densely packed leather volumes on the shelves, the names on the spines almost impossible to make out… for the ones that even had names.

Some were so old they looked like they were here more for somewhere to keep them than for them to actually be read by anyone. There weren't many people up here, but those who were were clearly seniors so I kept to the shadows whenever they passed or avoided occupied rows all together until finally, I found something that looked promising.

In the Kido sections, high up on the shelf far above my head glittered the silvery words "The unseen arts" Next to that: "Advanced Kido Encyclopedia", then "Master Level Kido for Conjurers" and more potentially useful titles.

I glanced around to make sure that no one was watching and swiped them from the row. Nearby one of the alcoves cut into the wall was free so I wedged myself into the corner and read silently by the candlelight.

The encyclopedia was exactly what it said on the tin. A list of all the known Kido, their uses, their full and shortened incantations, methods of casting, any rituals involved and more; But this looked like dark stuff, things that I wasn't even able to comprehend.

"Bakudo 90: Kurohitsugi… The black coffin? What the hell is this stuff…." I whispered in horror as I flicked through the pages, looking over the extremely graphic and morbid diagrams and sketches done by the author to illustrate the inner workings of each spell and their effects on the body of both the caster and the target. It looked more like Captain or lieutenant level, definitely the sort of abilities that were on par with Bankai, and not the sort of thing young students should have access to.

Disturbed by these, I flipped the heavy book closed and realized this was volume five of five. I had accidentally skipped to the end and become aware of exactly what Kido was capable of inexperienced hands. The idea was scary, but also alluring. The thought that one day if I practiced I could pull off magic like this… not that a situation serious enough to warrant this level of combat would ever arise.

I crept back and replaced volume five with volume one. This one was filled with the lower level beginner Kido that I was already learning, as well as more advanced Kido that I would be due to learn later in my education towards the back of the book which was exactly what I was looking for.

"Obstruct, Melt, Stalk, Rewind, Reset, Revert, Rewind, Reveal, Embed, Project, Expel, Dispel, Extinguish, Protect, Repel, Counter, Cleanse… Ah, Conceal!" I said flicking through the index which was in level order, not alphabetical, making my job harder.

Finally, listed on a page towards the end were a list of spells that would aid in concealment and disguise. Some of them seemed a little complex for my current level, but the first one was ideal for what I wanted: Camoflague - a Level 3, suitable for advanced practitioners. I hoped I could be considered as Advanced and not Novice or Beginner.

I tore a page out a notebook I just happened to have in my bag and copied down the whole section of the spell before returning the book to its shelf and taking a mental note of where I had found it. Judging by the fingerprints id left in the thick layers of dust and the lack of sign out signatures on the inside cover for its entire lifetime, the book seemed to have gone untouched for a long time so I didn't have to worry about it not being here again next time.

Before anyone could get suspicious, I headed downstairs to go back home and practice in the comfort of my own room. I couldn't exactly start practicing unauthorized Kido in the middle of the library no matter how quiet it was upstairs.

Just by chance, I happened to look right out of a clear panel in the top of a stain glass window between right below the second floor half while I descended the spiral staircase and saw something that my brain couldn't quite comprehend at first. I paused to stare and squinted hard, wondering if I was imagining it.

From this high point far above the campus buildings, I could see far into the distance over the vast expanse of forest that circled the academy for miles to the north and northwest away from the Seireitei. I few miles out the earth seemed to be… breathing? Undulating up and down, up and down like some giant great earthbound titan was trying to break free from its slumber. The birds departing from their nests was what caught my eyes in the first place, but now the undulating appeared to be moving off into the distance. Then suddenly a particularly large tree was completely uprooted, thrust into the air and left to topple down like a stick that had been yanked out of an ice lolly.

Then nothing. Just silence and stillness. The forest appeared to be completely normal once again and questioned whether I had imagined it. "What the hell did I just see…" I mumbled to myself, rubbing my eyes. Only then did I realize that people were waiting to get past me on the stairs and I sprinted down and out of the library at speed to rush back to my room.

When I arrived the others were already there with their books out on the low table and not-so-hot-anymore chocolate drinks resting forgotten about on the work surface.

"Nice of you to join us" Renji quipped and I ignored him.

"The library is up and running again as normal if you wanna take these study sessions over to somewhere more legal?" I suggested, pausing to kick my shoes off by the door. "You might have to fight for a seat though, it was completely rammed."

"Nah, we can't take food in there." Renji pointed out and the others nodded in agreement.

"Point taken."

"Priorities, you know. What's the point in studying without food or music?" Rukia said nibbling on what looked to be homemade grain crackers and cheese with a dipping sauce I didn't recognize, courtesy of Momo's cooking group earlier on. She leaned down and pulled back up with my new guitar in her hand. She hoisted it in the air in my direction without looking at me as if to say "Do Your Job"

I swiped a cracker and headed to my room ignoring the guitar.

"Renji move over, your fat butt doesn't need that much room, let her sit down!" She said, then looked up and noticed I wasn't standing there anymore.

"Kimi? You not staying with us?"

"Not tonight, I'm gonna hit the sack. All that reading made my eyes heavy. Couldn't study if I wanted to. You guys are gonna have to climb out of Momo's window tonight… Quietly if you don't mind" I added as an afterthought, nodding pointedly to the boys who shrugged.

"Oh… okay... Good night then!" Momo said looking confused as I shut my door. It was the first time I hadn't joined them but I had more important things to worry about than rereading our history textbook because of a potential quiz that the teacher had been threatening us with for weeks now.

I spent my night attempting to make myself invisible or rather making my body seamlessly blend in the with colours and textures of the thing that was directly behind me in the view of any individual who looked at me while the spell was active. That is to say, if a person on the left saw me in front of a wall, my body would take on the visual traits of the wall, but if someone from the right looked at me standing in front of a tree, I was looked like the wood of the tree for that person, rather than the brick.

It was exactly what I needed to avoid any wandering eyes while I was trying to slip by unnoticed and I knew that another Stealth gathering could be due any day now seeing as it had been over a week since the last one.

My gut feeling that something was going to happen was proven to be right the day after.

I knocked to see if the girls were ready for breakfast but both of them groaned and waved me away. Judging by the noise coming from the living room last night while I was quietly practicing my new Kido before bed, it seemed the guys stayed pretty late and they both wanted to sleep in late.

So I headed out for breakfast, then my morning track meeting but they still weren't up when I returned to freshen up so I left them be and headed to the music room with my shiny new guitar to spend the last day of the weekend practicing.

To my surprise, Shuhei was sitting in my usual seat waiting for me and looking anxious.

"Where were you yesterday?" He asked looking half excited, half impatient.

"Out. Why, was I supposed to be here?" I asked looking to Aoga. He hadn't mentioned anything about me needed to be here.

"No, it's just typical that the day I need you, you're not here,"

I winced. He was right. I'd been waiting around here all week hoping that he was ready to share his little secret project with us but he never turned up, so I gave in and headed out for the day with my friends instead.

"So, you're ready then? Are you gonna let us in the loop already?"

In reply, he reached into a black shoulder bag on the floor and pulled out a huge, extremely daunting looking, overfilled binder full of papers.

"Holy crap is this what you've been doing all this time?! I hope you don't expect me to read that beast…"

"Well, that would be ideal but if it's too much just skimming over it would do just fine. I have a feeling once you hear my idea you'll actually want to read all of this"

"Come on, explain already!" I whined impatiently. Some of the other early bird members were now gathering around, curious to see what was going on. Everyone had agreed that Shuhei's projects were usually outstandingly good, so this was highly anticipated by the other members who knew him well.

"Okay, here's my proposal for you, Murasaki."

For some reason, the word "Proposal" filtered through my brain in the completely wrong context. I pictured him standing in a suit playing the part of the groom while I stood next to him in a white dress playing the bride in some corny wedding play, probably brought on by all the talk of how popular Shuhei was with the girls. I started to blush and stutter, but thankfully he took this to be a sign of anxiety.

"Please don't freak out, this could be an awesome opportunity so stay with me. Being the leader of this club it's my job to give ideas for events and shows the go ahead, as well as organize the logistic stuff like venues, lighting, tickets etc. But I also have a habit of coming up with many of the ideas myself."

"So I've been told…" I said warily, glancing at Aoga who didn't react, stone-faced as ever. He wasn't letting any cats out of the bag. "Years ago when I first started here the music club had their own… how to call her… Popstar."

"No," I said bluntly. "The answer is no."

"Hold your horses you haven't even heard me out yet." He complained. I continued to shake my head vehemently but he plowed on. "When this popstar graduated, the club went back to just doing the occasional show and providing the music and entertainment for academy events. But everyone who was there at the time will tell you for certain that the school was never so united and atmospheric as when we had a concert from the popstar idol to look forward to."

A few of the other sixth years nodded.

"It was electric," Aoga said shortly.

"I want that feeling back before I go and I've had my eyes peeled for someone of your talent for a long time. For you to suddenly appear in my final year, my last chance to do this, I take that as a sign from the gods. I want to see the academy united under one awesome cause for one last time before I graduate."

"You want ME to be a school idol? What about this-" I said moving my hands from my head to my knees to demonstrate my size and stature "Gives you the impression of a Popstar?! I don't look like one! I'm not tall and pretty and girly and beautiful… I'm too shy to go on stage, I've never actually practiced properly, only for fun… and I don't even have any of my own music!" I blurted with lots of flailing arms. I noticed I had subconsciously been edging closer to the door, ready to bolt at any moment.

I did not like to be the center of attention at all, let alone standing alone on a stage in front of hundreds of people. Auditioning for the club was terrifying enough. I was far happier with sitting at the back playing my instruments while somebody else took center stage. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed being in the shadows so much, being unseen suited me far better.

"Since when did you have to be tall and pretty to be a popstar? Small and cute works just as well." I blushed again and turned away from him as if the compliment was a bullet that I could side-step.

"And, Hello, You're in the MUSIC CLUB?" he reminded sarcastically. "We have an abundance of talented writers, composers and all kinds of connection that can have this project organized in the blink of an eye. It will be a big team effort of the whole club. Trust me I've already got all of those things worked out in the book" he said nodding to the beastly binder on the desk.

I stared at it as if it were a rabid hound ready to bite my hand off if I touched it. Shuhei put his hand on my shoulder and smiled down at me. "Look, I have no doubt in your ability at all. You see, you're what we like to call a Triple Threat. You can sing, dance and play, and you can do them at the same time. You could take on any part in any production; So I expanded on the idea a little bit and hopefully it suits you better. Iv seen how shy you can be, but once you come out of your shell you're like a coiled spring… so much energy and enthusiasm; So I figured you would perform better if you weren't alone on stage." He opened the binder to the front page and turned it on the table to face me.

"May I present to you, the original concept for Shino-o Academy's first girl band." He said with an exaggerated flourish. The first page had the words "Shino-o Girl Band" scrawled in messy letters with "Name to be decided" in brackets below. I flicked through the pages one by one looking all the cool little drawings and diagrams.

"Whoa…" I said in awe, gawping at the sheer amount of work he had done. "Dude, don't you have exams to study for or something?" I mocked.

He waved me away. "I only did this while I was in the clubroom, outside I study. I kept them separate, don't worry. What do you think? Seeing as you're a triple threat you can be the frontwoman and your band members can be your back up dancers and singers. Every detail is in here"

I turned to a page with a messy sketch of three figures looking out over a crowd of people with beams of stage lighting blaring down on them. My stomach did a nervous belly roll.

"I'm not gonna lie, this scares me. I'm too shy to stand on stage in front of so many people…"

"I figured it would. But that's why I thought of a multi-member band, to give you confidence. It's a lot of information to take in, but I worked really hard on this and I think once you look into the details the idea might grow on you"

"Just give it a shot," Aoga grunted.

I sighed. I couldn't exactly say no. "Fine, only because it looks like you've put your heart into this… but I'm not making any promises!"

He nodded grimly. "That's all I can ask, though please don't come to any decisions without reading as many of my plans as possible. Every detail you could think of is in that book: Planning, costume designs, names, venues- the works. If you have any questions just come find me."

"Okay, I'll get back to you then," I said scooping up the monstrous binder, my bag and guitar to leave. As I got to the door, he called out to me.

"Oh, and Murasaki- It's best if you keep the plans to yourself. I want to keep the element of mystery with this project, especially if you do go with it."

"You got it, boss."

The library was much quieter than yesterday. I could have used one of the private practice rooms in the club, but I would be too tempted to pick up an instrument and get absolutely nowhere with the folder, so I decided that the library would be a better place to read over it in peace for as long as I needed.

When Shuhei said that he had taken every detail into consideration he wasn't exaggerating. He thought of everything. Every question I could have possibly thought of, every detail I wanted confirming. Most pages had sketches to clarify his idea and to be fair he was actually a pretty good artist. He seemed to have this vision of an edgy girl band with three members: Two backing singer/dancers and a frontwoman who conveniently, sang, played guitar and danced a little bit.

He even had ideas for how we could promote the band in collaboration with others clubs, like the newspaper club and photography helping to promote us, and how the fashion and dance clubs could organize the costumes and choreography.

The only thing I had to question at the end of the two hours it took me to get through all of the material was: Who the hell would my band mates be? Would he just pair me with two random girls from the club? That troubled me a lot. It was one thing making sure I wasn't alone, but that was useless to me if I didn't know or like my bandmates.

Luckily Id brought a notepad with me as id been doing a lot recently and I made sure to jot down any questions that popped into my head before flipping the binder closed. As I walked towards the exit I glanced up at the vast windows at the top of the first floor and remembered that bizarre occurrence out in the forest last night. I knew I was probably imagining it out to sleepiness but I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in my gut. Something wasn't quite right there but I had no idea what it could be.

I was quiet at dinner that night and everyone noticed that I was acting strangely.

"You okay? You've been a bit off today" Rukia asked as we dipped crusty bread into our soups.

"Yeah, I'm fine just… I don't know, distracted? Iv got a lot going on… with the clubs and stuff, ya know" I quickly elaborated so they didn't get suspicious that I was up to something. It was getting harder to hide stuff from them. My midnight stealth activities were easy enough because letting that slip could potentially get me expelled or arrested, easily preventable with a lot of care; But this secret music project was a different ball game. I was finding it hard to come to a decision and really wanted to ask their advice on it, but I had sworn to Shuhei that I wouldn't mention it.

"Oh? Are you struggling with the workload?" Kira asked. "Maybe you'd be better to just have one club?"

"No, it's not that. I can manage the track club because it's pretty much replaced my morning jog and I can always find time to go to the gym, but the music club is hard work. They have so many projects" I complained, giving myself a way of venting without giving up the truth.

"Just tell Shuhei you can only do one at a time" Renji suggested simply.

"I don't know. I'll work something out" I assured them. "Just know that I'm not ditching you guys intentionally. It's just that the club requires a lot of time and commitment."

Momo patted me on the shoulder. "We understand, don't worry. I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the end when we get to come to your shows!"

Just then a crazy thought hit me and I glanced between the two girls. Two band members. There to back me up and give me confidence. Only need to dance, not play instruments… They fit the build and they were the only two people that I would be comfortable with.

No way. There is no way Shuhei would allow it… I scorned myself. There was nothing less secret than inviting outsiders to take part in club activities. I bit my tongue to stop myself asking them a theoretical question about learning how to play music and went on quietly eating while they chatted among themselves.

I made myself have an early night to practice the concealment spell again and meditate with Ruby in the dark to gather my thoughts.

That night my dreams were particularly vivid. And for once they weren't nightmares, more like a premonition of the future. I stood in a tall dark room surrounded by curtains, camera and sound equipment and rails of bright, colourful stage clothing. Suddenly the lights on the stage to my left came on and ran toward them. The screaming crowd appeared out of nowhere, vast as the eye could see and I stood there gazing around at the seas of people in awe. I looked down and saw myself wearing an elaborate frilly pink dress but before I could freak out there came a hand on both of my shoulders. I turned to see Rukia and Momo grinning those infectiously happy smiles at me. They pushed me forward encouragingly and the crowd went wild as I picked up my guitar, the exact one I had brought the day before.

"Kimi! Did you forget your alarm? We're gonna be late!" Momo called out, startling me awake just as dream-me was about to start belting out a song in a tall silver microphone.

"Crap." I cursed, partly at being disturbed from such a good dream and partly at forgetting my alarm. When I glanced at the clock face next to my head there was only half an hour to get ready and get to class and no chance of going for a morning run. Not exactly a great start.

I wanted to lie there and relive the dream for a little bit longer, and the more I thought about it, the more my initial feelings of dread turned into muted excitement.

"Is that really what it feels like to perform on a real stage?" I asked myself in a whisper. "If so… I'm in."

For the rest of that day, I found it torturous to contain myself. I felt like I wanted to grab the girls, drag them to the music room and make my demands to Shuhei right now and forget about the rest of my classes.

It didn't take long for me to start doodling what my dream outfit had looked like in the margins of my history notebook as I completely ignored the teacher's mind-numbingly boring lecture about the importance of Central 46.

I made a few tweaks here and there to make the frilly outfit into something a little less girly and a little more fitting to Shuhei's edgy vision which was quickly growing on me.

I wasn't focused in Zanjutsu at all and Renji scolded me for not being on my A-game today. I apologized, which in itself was completely unlike me where Renji was concerned, so I stepped aside to let Kira have his turn. Renji watched me walk away to the water cooler as if I had just grown two heads.

"She is not okay." I vaguely heard him grumble to Rukia and the next thing I knew she and Momo were at my side, panting like they'd a marathon. I knew full well they hadn't, they'd be sitting on the sidelines watching until the group next to us had finished their sparring match and needed an excuse to follow me out here. They were such bad fakers.

"Phew, I'm parched!" Rukia said theatrically taking a swig of water as she leaned up against the wall beside me.

"Me too, I feel a bit tired" Momo agreed. "You okay Kimi? You look tired too"

I bit my lip hard trying to stop myself but I couldn't do it. "Are you two free after classes tonight?"

They blinked, not expecting that. "I am-" Rukia said looking to Momo.

"Me too, why do you need help with something?"

"You could say that. Would you be able to come to the Music Club with me tonight, I need to ask you something,"

"Can't you just ask it now?" Rukia blurted. Clearly, they'd both noticed that my mind my elsewhere and they were both curious to know what it was.

"No, I've been told not to. I'm probably wrong to bring you with me, but I need to know if it's okay…"

They stared at me blankly. "You're making zero sense…"

I shook my head in frustration. "I might be now but it'll all make sense later. Just bear with me and I'll explain, I just can't say anything here. Just wait for me outside after Meditation tonight and don't say anything to the guys. We have to keep this quiet."

"Okay… We'll look forward to it?" Momo said uncertainly and Rukia shrugged.

I headed back into the dojo feeling at least a little bit refreshed just by getting a little bit off my chest.

A/N: Hi again~ Thanks for sticking with me!

I kinda imagine Aoga to be like a Soul Reaper version of Chad. Quiet, a man of few words, lots of grunts and nodding.

I got the idea for this from watching music and idol animes, one of my favorite genres (Love Live, K-ON, IDOLM STER, Uta no Prince Sama etc), and just because listening to music gives me many of the ideas for this story.

My ideas for the whole Arrancar arc are based on one album, and I can even imagine which characters would sing which song and play which instruments if they ever had a music festival or something. So I went for it, especially with how clubs are such a big thing in Japanese anime. So this will be Kimi's main hobby. I kinda imagine her talking voice to be like Noire from Hyperdimension Neptunia (she kinda looks like her and has the Tsundere thing too) and her singing voice to be a bit like Mio's in K-ON or Maki's in Love Live.

Don't worry though, this is only a little bit of filler fluff alongside the main story to bulk it out a little bit.

3rdseatofsquad2 - I was only gonna have Byakuya kinda rub her face into the floor a little bit and have the sheer indignity of it happening in front of so many witnesses who later rip her apart for her idiocy be the cause of her to hatred of him;

Though the idea of making it a true spectacle where Byakuya really puts Kimi in her place does sound more appealing. I may have to tweak that chapter to add some more action :P

As I'm writing these I'm breaking them down into smaller chapters (from 12kish words to around 6k-9k) so at this rate it'll be the hollow incident, the graduation, the betrayal, the time skip, and awakening and then well move on to Kimi's life as an officer for the next 50ish years just after chapter 40. I did write out a timeline when I started writing this working out when all of this takes place in the real timeline and I remember it because about 50 years before Ichigo is introduced because the Pendulum arc was 110 years ago and it has already been 50+ since she witnessed all of the hollowfication experiments.

Not sure how many chapters the build-up to canon will have as I only have it in notes at the moment.

Then there's the Rukia capture and rescue arc and onwards, but keep in mind that certain people are alive now that weren't in canon, and other people have different roles so hopefully everything will be different. Maybe in the next two or three chapters, you'll understand where I'm going with this and who I'm keeping alive ^^

Also, her Zanpakuto's name will be Kōrichi. Not sure if that gives you any info at all, but due to a certain incident in the last Academy chapter we won't actually know much about it until the canon story. You'll see what I mean.

And with that little cliff hanger, cya next time!


	35. Frostbite

Chapter 35 - Frostbite

Sitting in a dark room meditating by candlelight was exactly what I needed during Meditation class. Yeah, it frustrated me that the stupid crystal in my mind was always just a fingertip away, but today that didn't matter. I ignored the aggravating little object for once.

Instead, I used the quiet time to figure out my excuse for pulling Rukia and Momo away without the guys tagging along, and also exactly how I was going to convince Shuhei of my idea.

The end of the hour came quickly and the three of us headed out of the classroom.

"Where are you guys going?" Renji asked as we turned to go in the opposite direction.

"I need them to help me decide on a stage costume for the production," I told him having rehearsed the excuse a million times in my head. "I need a second and third opinion"

"Ew, girly stuff. Fine, we'll have dinner without you then." He said as if it was a bad decision we would have to live with.

"See you all tomorrow if you're not back in time" Kira smiled before we went separate ways.

I let out a sigh of relief as we departed. "Thank god they brought it."

"What exactly is going on, Kimi?" Momo asked sounding concerned.

"I'm guessing it's not a dress rehearsal?" Rukia guessed.

"You'll see when we get there, play along and let me convince Shuhei… I just hope you're up for the idea"

The room was packed when we entered. I spotted Shuhei and a bunch of sixth years over by the stage setting up some equipment for a practice session and made a beeline for him.

"Shuhei!" I called over the noise and he peered around to find me.

"Murasaki-" he started, then he spotted Momo and Rukia following close behind me. "You brought friends?" he asked looking puzzled.

"Don't worry, I have told them... Yet."

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Yet?"

"Can I get a few minutes with you? I want to talk about the project"

"Of course, let's go over here," he said leading us into one of the quiet rooms just off the lounge and shutting the door behind us.

He took a seat at the small desk in the corner and looked at me hopefully. "Well? Have you made a decision? You can take longer if you need it."

"I have. But on one condition- I want Rukia and Momo to be my bandmates." I said firmly causing the two girls to yelp in surprise and Shuhei's eyebrows tried to escape from his forehead for the second time.

"WHAT?!" they both yelped.

"Okay, I'll explain. So basically, Shuhei had the idea that I should be part of a girl band for a music project" I said taking the thick ring binder out of my backpack and dropping it on the table in front of him with a thud. I began flicking through the pages to show them the illustrated ideas. I caught a flash of interest in Momo's eyes when I turned to the page that had a few simple outfit designs. "But the only problem I could see was that I wouldn't be comfortable with anyone as a band member. The whole idea is to make me confident to be in front of so many people, but how can I do that if I don't know my own band members? So, there's my solution- My one condition." I explained briefly.

Shuhei thought about it for a few long moments then nodded. "I don't see why not."

I was floored. I expected it to take a hell of a lot more work to convince him than that. "Really? That would be okay?"

"Sure, if they agree. But they need to put in the time and hours."

I looked at them with a fiery hope shining in my eyes. "What do you think?"

Momo looked at me with sadness in her eyes. "Kimi… We would love to, it sounds super fun but… we can't sing."

"Well, it's not that we can't, it's that we haven't tried." Rukia corrected her.

"That's workable. We can train you to see if you have decent enough voices, if not you can just be dancers or backing vocals"

"So, what about our other clubs? I'm assuming that if we do this, we have to join the music club, but that means I will have three clubs and Momo will have four, plus classes and studying. There aren't enough hours in the day." Rukia frowned.

"And we can't just quit our other clubs and then find that were not suitable for the band," Momo added.

"I wouldn't make you quit your other clubs unless that was something you'd be willing to do. I'm sure I could make negotiations with your other clubs to set times and days for each of your commitments and balance them equally until you make the decision to join or not."

"If that's something you can do… I guess there's no harm in trying?" Rukia asked looking at Momo who nodded enthusiastically.

"You'll do it?! Thank you so much. If we can make this work it will be so much fun" I said flying at them and hugging them both. I turned to Shuhei with a new determination. "So, when do we start?"

He smirked shaking his head then stood up. "For someone who was completely against it yesterday, you change your mind pretty fast. I'll head to the admin office in the morning and put in a request to speak with your club leaders. Then you can start as soon as arrangements have been made."

"You already came up with names and stuff?" Momo asked in awe of Shuhei attention to detail, now sitting at the desk to flick through the binder.

"Yeah. I wanted to keep you guys anonymous so that you aren't hounded by fans in your day to day school life like the last school idol was. I figured if we give you stage names and make your wear outfits and wigs then no one would figure out it's you."

"Don't you think that this kinda gives it away a little bit?" Rukia said pointing to the top of the current page. It had the word Emerald underlined in big green letters.

"Nah. It's like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to keep people guessing. Even if they started looking at Emerald Plateau girls you wouldn't be wearing your disguises so no one would know unless you told them."

"Not with the right disguises. But we'll have no problem with that. More importantly, I think you need stage names. People can't know you as 1, 2 and 3."

"Let's follow with the emerald theme then, shades of green?"

"That works!" Momo said before taking a pause to consider the idea. "I like olive. It's a nice soft colour"

"How about... Pickle? Ew nonono never mind, that's gross. How about... Sage? That makes me sound smart too"

"Then I'll be... I don't know... Jade? That actually a pretty common name so I doubt anyone would question it"

"They sound good, and Momo has the right idea about characters. If she has the soft cute name we can make her the cute band member in her parts and costumes. Rukia can be the mature looking one with the intelligent, refined character and Kimi can be the energetic one, not that she has to put on an act there ..."

"Hey, are you calling me dumb?! Are you saying I have to pretend to be smart?!" Rukia demanded angrily.

"And am I not cute in real life!?" Momo said looking stricken.

"No! No of course not!"

"Were not?!"

"No that's not what I mean-"

I made a shovelling motion with my hands and Shuhei shut up.

"What I think he means is you have to push those qualities and exaggerate them so that they define you're on stage character" Aoga explained before Shuhei had recovered.

"And to be honest your voices and talents already suit those roles. Momo has a sweet girly voice, whereas Rukia has a deeper older voice and Kimi is just..."

"Choose your words wisely, boss-man," I said cracking my knuckles with a smirk.

He looked me up and down. Sitting with my legs sprawled on the back of the sofa, guitar on my lap making myself at home as usual.

Even the way we dressed showed our individual character. Momo and Rukia were always very feminine, clean, well presented, whereas I tended to wear baggy clothes for comfort and carry myself in a "could give a crap what you think of me" kind of manner.

"...Boisterous."

The girls stifled a laugh.

I shrugged not disagreeing with the answer in the slightest. "Then that's settled. That's what we'll do. I'll go and pass arrange meetings with the fashion club to get some outfits designed for you. I'm sure it'll give the writers and composers ideas too so bear with us and keep practicing in the meantime. And remember, this is our secret project. What happens in the studio stays in the studio."

"You got it boss!" we all chimed.

* * *

We didn't see the guys again that night. We could have called for them on the way back from dinner but we were too hyped by our new secret venture to think about studying. Instead, we sat in the living room going over Shuhei's plans together, picking and choosing ideas that we liked and writing down notes to expand on them.

After a few hours, we were all too tired to make sense of the words on the pages and decided to call it a night.

I was just about to drift away into dreamland when a sharp burning stinging sensation on my wrist brought me crashing back to reality. "Are you freakin' kiddin' me!?" I spat, jumping out of bed to take a look at the burning letters imprinted there under lamplight.

"Assemble. North forest near the ballpark." Is all that was imprinted there. I knew I had no choice but to attend, despite how tired I was and the lack of information. Just north forest? Really? I'd never even been to the ballparks before, how was I supposed to find a meeting point with information so vague?

 ** _Oh well, at least I get to put my new gear to use_** , I thought forcing myself to walk to the wardrobe and fish around for my black clothing. In a few minutes, I was decked in my tight black leggings, baggy hoodie, new black mask and black sword belt, ready to go and do whatever the Commander had waiting for us.

I headed in a general northerly direction across the rooftops, using the shadows as cover until I eventually hit the outskirts of the forest and followed it around to the tall posts and nets of a ball court. During the day this would be the least likely area you would ever find me. I was a runner, not a sports person and even when Renji and Kira had expressed their urge to go and play some ball games around here I declined the offer to come and watch them.

I really didn't have the time or energy to watch the big burly boys trying to one-up each other in an attempt to be impressive and manly. Now, I was regretting not joining them just because I wasn't knowledgeable of the area and therefore at a disadvantage.

The structures provided more than enough cover to sneak through the park without being seen, then I flash stepped into the edge of the forest and paused to look around. After a moment of concentrating I sensed a few dim spiritual pressures a couple of yards away and hurried to join them.

In a small clearing with a slither of moonlight breaking the treetops stood the Commander, surrounded by a small crowd. Right by her side, as usual, was Fang. The asshole who I'd love nothing more than to punch in the face.

Every time we had gathered since then for the "Stealth games" as she had called it, he had done everything in his power to either knock me out of the competition, make me look like an idiot or just plainly piss me off, and this time I was determined to be the one who comes out on top.

More of the group gathered until finally, the Commander was ready.

"This is merely another quick exercise just to keep you active. I'm afraid at present I do not have much free time to step up elaborate events for you as in previous meetings. For now, I have planted a flag somewhere in the forest and several smaller flags scattered around the immediate area. The first person to collect all six of the flags and make it to the goal will be tonight's winner and awarded points. Combat is encouraged, disarming your opponent counts as a win and the loser will be disqualified from the competition." She paused to stare around at us. "But no fatalities. I have more than enough paperwork to deal with already. You may begin!" She said and flash stepped away, leaving us all in the clearing to fend for ourselves.

I didn't wait. I knew that some of these people would want to pick off their enemies immediately before they had a chance to disappear into the darkness. I bolted just as everyone began to realize what was happening.

I kept my eyes peeled for signs of disturbance in the ground, as well as movement around me in case of being ambushed. Sure enough, it seemed the Commander had attempted to leave clues for us as to the locations of these flags. I ran in a random direction away from the starting clearing and happened to spot something out of the corner of my eye that made me stop for another look.

A shaft of moonlight caught on an arrowed that had been carved into it a tree nearby, pointing in the direction I was running. This couldn't possibly have been a coincidence, so I carried on that path. In a few minutes, I came to a grinding halt as the huge grey stone wall that separated the academy grounds from the outside Rukon came looming into view like an ominous guardsman.

I skidded to a stop and used the wall to break my run taking a moment to catch my breath as I stared around me. Far up above my head shone a small, bright white piece of fabric tied to a high tree branch with a big black S embroidered on the silk.

"Gotcha!" I smirked, looking for a way up into the tree that wouldn't end in me breaking my neck. It was way too high up to flash step directly up there without being able to find the safest landing spots. I stood back examining the structure mentally mapping a route up the tree using its long thick branches.

Just as I was about to set off, I heard a crack of twigs behind me and whirled on the spot, pulling Ruby out of the sheath around my waist in a flash. I heard the whistling of metal cutting through the air before I saw him and somehow managed to block the attack.

"I should have known you wouldn't have the brains to find the target for yourself. Leave the smart people to do the dirty work then pick them off and take the credit, huh?" I taunted as Fang bore down on me with his blade. This was my first time clashing with him and the first thing I noticed was that it wasn't a school-issued Asauchi with the plain red handle, which meant that either he had a custom sword like my Onyx, or this was the sixth year with an awakened Zanpakuto. The thought made me nervous, but I pushed it aside and forced him away from me with a burst of energy, creating a few meters distance between us.

We circled each other, him looking for an opening, me waiting for the inevitable attack.

"Nah, I could have found it myself but you were already heading in this direction, so I figured it'd be best to pick off the easy prey first!" he snarled coming at me for a second time. I rushed forward to parry the attack with an equal force. "I don't need little kids getting in my way… Again" he spat, so close to me that if it wasn't dark and he hadn't gone his head covered I would have been able to make out the colour of his eyes.

I laughed loudly. "Really? Is that what this is about? You've got it in for me because I stopped you from getting one hundred percent of the glory when we swiped Kanisawa's paperwork? Dude, I actually helped you that time. If I hadn't have made her go to the hospital for her friend, she would have locked those files away. You should be thanking me, not treating like your arch nemesis!"

He pulled away and forced me back towards the wall with a flurry of fast swings and slashes that put Renji's manic style to shame. Barely dodging them, his plan finally clicked in my brain. He was literally backing me into a corner until I was pinned and unable to escape and I managed to duck under his arm and twirl out of his way, repositioning myself for a back-attack. He turned to block it and I jumped away, making sure that I always had a view of the wall.

"But unlike you, I'm not getting through this course with pure lucky and clumsy mistakes." He said walking towards me with his sword tip dragging across the floor, cutting the twigs in half like toothpicks.

"So made a bad choice once. Big deal. As far as I'm concerned it worked out quite well for me."

He came in for another attack, slashing through the air so fast his blade whistled every time it came close to my head. "So well that you ended up putting a member of student management in hospital and potentially risking exposing yourself? Good job"

Crap, he knew what happened? Of course he must know, Kanisawa had probably spread the story of my clumsiness around school and the club members knew that I had "bumped" into her, so I supposed he would be smart enough to put two and two together and understand that Kimiko Murasaki and the one who stole the other half of Kanisawa's paperwork were the same person. Either that or it was a coincidence the paperwork had been stolen right after I encountered her. Had I unknowingly given my identity away to someone dangerous?

"Look, whatever your problem is quit taking it out on me," I said changing the subject. "I'm here to get stronger and have some fun just like everyone else; I'm sorry to break this to you but being a freshman doesn't mean I'm not capable of hold my own in a fight!" I snarled coming in for an attack of my own.

"Oh please, If I was trying to wipe you out, I could have done that without you even knowing I was there. Get over yourself. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is to save the Commander the effort of having to do paperwork for some newbie who isn't even taking this seriously!"

"Oh, I'm taking this VERY seriously. I would love nothing more than to get noticed by the Stealth Forces for my efforts here, but you're making this so much more complicated than it needs to be!"

"You're not taking this serious at all. Get out of my way!" He said lunging at me with his sword aimed for my throat.

I quit holding back. He had made it clear that he willing to do real harm to me, and that was something I wasn't about to stand by and allow.

My sense of danger tingling and the need for self-preservation forced me into action.

With a roar of effort, I forced my Spirit Energy outwards, making it manifest into a strong blast of frigid wind and forced Fang backward. He stumbled, flinching and choking as the wind forced itself way into his eyes, nose and throat and I took the moment to strike.

I didn't aim for his body, instead, I struck his sword with my own then blasted him with another wave of energy that threw him hurtling back. He lost his footing and his back slammed into a tree with a crunch. My icy gale continued pummelling him until crystals began to form in the air, aimed at him like many tiny sharp needles- so small that you could only see them glimmer in the moonlight as they moved. Cuts and slices began to appear on his clothes where each microscopic shard slashed at him like invisible razors. After they hit, they melted away against his skin from his body heat like they never existed.

I allowed my wind to batter him, raising my hands into the air, savouring the cooling gales on my skin as I increased the intensity.

Fang raised a hand to his throat, desperately gesturing for me to stop, but I didn't want to. The son of a bitch deserved everything he had coming to him. Threatening me like that, treating me like dirt; Then I came to my senses and came to the realization that having another student's blood on my hands would be a bad idea.

I took a deep breath to restrain myself and forced my energy back down into that sharp sphere I visualized as it's state of control in my mind's eye.

The winds died and all that was left of the melted ice on fangs body and a trickle of glistening blood dripping down his cheek silently with no indication of what might have caused the injury.

I thought how perfect an ice weapon would be in my line of work, leaving no trace of its origins after the deed was done.

We observed each other for a few moments, my sword held slack in my hand with the blade skimming the ground as I calmly strolled towards him like he had done to me only minutes ago. Ruby sliced through twigs and forest floor debris like butter. The handle tingled in my hand like her red-ribboned grip had been turned into a block of pure, refreshing ice and I gave her a menacing one-handed twirl.

I half expected him to get up and continue the fight but something in his eyes told me that wasn't going to happen. Was that fear I saw? Was he actually scared of me, a little freshman with no real experience, as he had reminded me numerous times?

I had no idea at the time but when I used my energy like that, even back in my entrance exam spiritual test, my eyes always glowed a luminous turquoise ocean blue in the darkness giving me an unnervingly, otherworldly, dangerous aura. That was probably what now had Fang frozen in place against the tree trunk, torn and tattered like a traumatized ragdoll where the icy needles had sliced wholes through his clothes, leave thin gashes on the skin beneath.

As I reached him at my slow menacing pace, I raised my sword and thrust it forward as if I was going to impale him. He winced as the blade embedded into the tree only millimetres from his throat and I crouched to get right in his face.

"Don't EVER assume that I am weak. Get the fuck off my back or next time these little bits of frostbite will be the least of your worries. GOT IT?!" I spat venomously, pushing my blade closer to his neck.

He gave a grabbled grumble of understanding and I yanked the blade out of the tree. "Good. Don't even bother following me. In case you haven't noticed, your sword is on the floor which means I disarmed you and you're disqualified. Now sit tight like a good boy while I do the rest."

I shot off from the ground leaping high into the air and landing on the lowest branch before darting all the way up to the top where the tiny white flag was tied. Once I grabbed it, I landed cleanly on the ground and waved the piece of silk in the air just to make it clear that I had won.

"Laters, loser."

After that, it was a walk in the park. It seemed that along with my adrenaline boost came a boost in my awareness. All of my senses felt heightened in the crisp night air and I noticed that each flag had someone's spiritual pressure attached to it, like a scent marking which was probably the captains.

I remembered what I learned in class about a Soul Reaper's presence showing up as a red ribbon if you focused on it, and this was more like a red smudge, like the residue of a Reaper's recent presence. That's how I managed to find all of the other flags, by focusing hard and homing in on their current holder.

Once I worked that out it was easy to kick my colleague's asses and head for the prize. I felt like an avalanche- Constantly increasing in speed, power and confidence, snowballing my way to victory. I was literally on a rampage. Some people were easy to make drop their swords and concede, others took a little more work, but with my size and speed a could literally dance circles around them until they got tired and snatch the flag right out of their hands.

I arrived at the centre of the forest with all six flags in my position and strode to the six-foot flagpole at the centre of a clearing to announce my victory. After a few moments and whoosh of air, the Commander arrived.

"It would seem we have a clear victor." She announced loudly.

I glimpsed the rest of the class lurking near the treeline, either defeated or completely unsuccessful at getting any action at all. Some looked disappointed, some offended or angry at my unexpected triumph while others seemed to take it in good spirits and quietly applauded me when the Commander congratulated me.

"I suppose this means you will be awarded all of the points today. What is your name, Cadet?"

Cadet? Not freshman, or Newbie? Cadet, like a person in training? My heart soared and my confidence, beaten down into the ground until recently, bloomed like a flower in the spring. Maybe this meant that the Commander was finally taking notice of me.

I pondered the question for a moment then made my decision. I couldn't give them my real name so I would give them the next best thing, making two decisions at once:

"The name is Jade," I said loudly, holding my head up high as I glanced over at the guy I knew as Fang leaning against a tree just inside the shadows of the forest as if not wanting to be spotted but still wanting to witness this with his own eyes.

Right before he stormed away, the expression I caught in his eyes bothered me. Suspicion, recognition? I had a worrying feeling that he may have worked out who I was due to my actions with Kanisawa. The story of how I fell down the stairs and then got investigated for missing paperwork had spread like wildfire. I didn't doubt that he was smart enough to put two and two together… I just hoped he didn't try to get me into trouble.

"All twenty points to you then, Jade. Keep up the good work." And the next time I glanced to my side, Fang was gone. I ignored my uneasy feeling and thanked the Commander for my reward.

"Alright, let's call it a night. Thank you for your participation and I'll see you all next time, dismissed!" and she vanished into thin air.

* * *

I slept like a log for the rest of the night after I stopped reliving my overwhelming victory in my head. When I got up the next morning, I was admittedly tired but nothing could dampen my positively dazzlingly bright mood.

The girls just assumed it was because we had managed to make a start on the music project, but they had no idea, and probably never would know, that in the dead of night I had defeated my mysterious sworn enemy in battle. The look of horror on his face as I loomed over him with my sword pointing at his throat swam in my memory and gave me a sick sense of satisfaction.

The morning started off fine with my usual run, which the girls were already awake and totally up for which made a nice changed. Then we started off with Field Theory class with Onabara.

After all of the long hours in the classroom with Onabara talking about the logistics of hollow extermination, he was finally getting us started with practicals.

"Alright listen up you noisy bunch," he called out from the front of the class as homeroom faded into the first period.

"We've been focusing on the ins and outs, do's and don'ts, paperwork, and theory of fieldwork in the World of the Living- which also goes for Soul Society field work too; but I think you get it now. We can start moving on to real practical work. I think I'd best prepare you now: In a couple of months you'll be putting everything you've learned here, and in your other classes, to the test. As part of the graduation exams for the sixth years, they will be taking you to a controlled environment in the World of the Living where you will practice fighting dummy hollows. But before that, we'll train you up here and take you to a noncombat environment to practice techniques like Konso. The grades you receive on both of these tests will contribute towards your end of the year exam results. If you fail those, you'll have to redo the first year."

We all glanced at each other. The prospect made me nervous but also excited to have the promise of something meaningful and fun to look forward to, and it seemed the others felt the same by their bright smiles.

"Alright, pack your stuff up and follow me, we're heading out to the ball court for a practical"

Strange how these things seem to happen. Yesterday I didn't even know where the ball court was, then I had to meet my club there and now I suddenly had classes here too? Coincidence, perhaps.

Onabara led us to the northernmost tip of the campus that usually only the sports orientated students favourited in their free time, but there were no footballers or basketballers here today.

It looked totally different how I perceived it last night with all of the long, angular shadows and dark patches gave the courts a different shape. They were clearly visible ball courts, colour coded depending on the sport and separated by green net fences to stop balls from straying off too far.

We stopped in front of a series of six long alley shaped courts with high nets on either side. Down the far end was a canon shaped machine and at the front a locked metal cabinet that contained protective gear and bats.

"Listen up. This training exercise is designed to improve your reflexes, perception, aim, focus and most importantly, to help you know when its a good time to attack a hollow."

Renji had the same doubtful look on his face as me. When was it not a good time to attack a hollow? Just whack it and get it dead as soon as possible before it can eat someone.

"Each of you will take it in turns in two-minute intervals to get a bat and hit the balls that come flying out of that canon. But there's one catch-" he unlocked the cabinet and pulled out two balls the size of golf balls. "Some of these balls have a green symbol on them, some have red. The green ones represent souls that's are not yet hollows that need to be Konso'd and taken care of gently. The red ones are the hollows that need to be dealt with. If you hit the green ones, you'll get a nasty surprise."

"Oh jeez, here we go" I mumbled.

"Problem, Murasaki?" Onabara asked hearing my murmur.

"Not really sir. I just know I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bazooka, even if it had a giant glowing target painted on it. I was banned from archery back home for a reason, sir."

The rest of the class snickered, a few nodded agreeing with my self-doubt.

"Well that's something we are here to work on," he said thrusting the first bat into my arms. I held it like a ticking time bomb.

"Suit up, you're first"

"Damn it..."

"Teaches you not to complain," he said smugly with his back turned to open the other lockers.

Soon enough I proved why my parents had banned me from archery, and we found out what the nasty surprise was.

After swinging my bat so hard that I lost the grip and threw it down the court twice and had to retrieve it while still being pelted by balls, all in the space of two minutes, I finally managed to hit one... The wrong one. I got excited when the ball was right in my line of aim, only for its rotation to reveal the green marker when it was too late to dodge it.

The ball split open and thick white flour powder plumed out, covering me from head to toe and turning my hair white.

I squealed while the class howled with laughter behind me, but after being battered by a few more balls I regained my composure and managed to hit a couple of red ones, which contained sparkling confetti that got stuck in the flour and made me look like a decorated white birthday cake.

A claxon rang when my time was up and I plodded out of the court feeling sticky and a rotten mess.

"Five points? Really? You are bad!" Renji wheezed and I gave him the finger out of Onabara view.

"Alright, now that powderpuff here has demonstrated what not to do, the rest of you pick a court and suit up. You've got until the school bell rings"

"I'll give him powderpuff..." I growled trying to wipe the flour out if my eyes with my sleeve and only making it worse.

Most of my classmates had the same experience as me, some worse than others. Rukia was surprisingly excellent and scored 35 points on her first try. Renji wasn't bad either with 28. Momo was much like me with no aim whatsoever and came out looking like a ghost only with more confetti than me, and Kira seemed to have gotten the objective backward, dodging most of the balls instead of hitting them, probably trying to avoid being powdered to death. He ended with 8 points but surprisingly no flour.

The bell signalling the end of the class rang as my second turn came to an end. I came out of the court looking like a bakery had exploded on my head and we took off for the dorms get showers before lunch.

As we were discussing each other's performances I had this strange tingly, fuzzy sensation wash over me. Like the feeling you get when you sense a large spiritual pressure, but it wasn't large, just... unusual, unfamiliar. I went quiet and faded to the back of our group to look around, but I didn't see a thing. The grounds were bustling with students on their day to day activities as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary, but something was felt wrong.

"What's up, snowy?" Kira asked looking back when he realized they'd lost me.

Distracted, I didn't even notice my second new nickname of the day.

"Nothing... Thought I felt something"

"That'll be the flour in your pants," Renji said doing an uncomfortable shuffle.

"Ew, that's gross!" Momo said shoving him away.

"Ugh, nasty. Go get a shower and meet up back here" Rukia told them and we went our separate ways.

I was still staring out over the lake towards the tree line as if willing whatever I had sensed to show itself.

"Kimi, c'mon! First one to the room gets dibs on the hot water!" Momo called playfully and ran inside.

"I'm coming..."

I tried not to think about it after that, but I couldn't help but steal glances at the spot where I thought I'd sensed the bazaar presence when I was on the running track, passing through the area or looking out of a window.

I felt the hairs on my neck and arms standing up frequently when roaming around outdoors, and I tried to tell myself I was being paranoid and thinking too much into something insignificant.

* * *

A/N: I'm back again! Been tweaking at this seeing as there a lot going on, unlike the previous fluffy fillery chapters. There was 20k words but I've split this to shorter chapters. More action coming right up!

3rdSeatofSquad2 Kimi will only ever attempt Kido that advanced in many years when she actually has the ability and know-how, after all along with Renji she kinda sucks at Kido (compared to everyone except Renji) even though she sees the major advantages of it in her line of work. Like you say, maybe she would use something like Kurohitsuji as a last resort in future.

I do like the idea of Aizen intervening before Byakuya can go too far with his punishment. But Aizen getting involved would be even more humiliating to Kimi because she loathes him and doesn't want to believe that she's wrong about suspecting him to be evil. So yeah, that's definitely going into the chapter, even more fuel to her fire :D

When the Arc ends (Chapter 40 give or take) it will flow into the start of her qualified Soul Reaper life.

She will be a big part of Rukia's Capture. You can guess which squad Kimi will belong to and part of that squad's duties is recon missions and information gathering. Let's say Kimi leads the charge on the hunt find and detain Rukia, then uses the information gathered to travel in the dead of night to snatch her up with Renji, Byakuya and another fan favourite whose name I won't mention until he is more concrete into the story. She could do it all by herself seeing as it's her job to track & apprehend criminals, but everyone is so pissed about the situation that they tag along for emotional blackmail to make Rukia come to her senses and leave Ichigo. It's actually all Kimi's fault that Rukia is forced to leave Ichigo.

Oh my god, I never even imagined something that funny could happen in the Arrancar arc! I love it! I only had very basic plans for a very dark storyline of Kimi getting "involved" with the Espada due to Aizen, but I had no plans for funny things. I imagine that Dordoni, the fabulous Spanish dude, would be the one giving her language and flamenco lessons against her "Master's" express orders of isolation. Not gonna give any more of my plans for that one away :P

There are actually two hollow incidents. The first will be the next chapter, the second is the one with Aizen and Kanisawa.

The graduation will be the party to say goodbye to the 6th years as well as the moment of truth that makes all of Kimi's hard work seem worthwhile.

The Betrayal is Rukia leaving and Kimi's hard work going to waste which is the reason for her resentment. (You'll see what I mean soon)

Time skip - First year skipping to their 6th years + graduation

Awakening - Yep, the Zanpakuto, but as I said due to "unexpected circumstances" she won't know its true name for a long time. She ends up having to lie about her Zanpakuto to anyone that asks because she can't hear its name.

The next Chapter will be the big event of this arc, or at least the start of it if its still over 15k words. Don't forget to review, I'll reply with a shoutout to anyone and everyone 3


	36. The Hunters and the Hunted

Chapter 36 – The Hunters and the Hunted

"What were you thinking!?" Kanisawa said slamming her hand on her office desk in anger later that afternoon.

The odd absence of Master Dao, the teacher who had an arsenal big enough to destroy legions of hollows, had resulted in the appearance of the one and only head of the Disciplinary Squad.

Instead of bringing help in case we failed, he brought somebody to put us in our place as a reward for saving the school.

"First years... fighting hollows, completely unaided and against express instruction!?" she ranted looking like she was going to blow a fuse. "Have you any idea of the damage you could have done!?"

The five of us stood in a line staring her down determinedly while Master Dao, who I had lost all respect for, stood behind her chair and Shuhei leaned against the door looking nothing like his usual cheery self and more like the sullen campus heartthrob that everyone portrayed him as, blocking our only escape route. Clearly, he had gotten to know me well enough and by reputation as a hothead in the short time we had worked together and he knew full well that the threat of multiple imposing authority figures would not be enough to stop me from waking. I was probably more intimidated by Shuhei the music club boss who could shatter my dreams at any moment than Shuhei the Head Boy with a big shiny badge on his chest.

"Someone had to do something, or would you prefer for our class to have been eaten alive? Dao sure as hell saved his own skin before ours-" I snapped back

"How dare you!" Dao said defensively, his nostrils flaring and face going red. "My number one priority was to protect my students! I instructed you to get to safety and you refused-"

"If we'd have gone to safety they would have either destroyed the building to get to us or spread out onto the campus! You of all people surely know that hollows never lose the scent of pray!"

"Do not presume to teach me lessons, Murasaki! Remember who is the teacher here" he argued, dodging my bullet.

"Hell of a job you did there, teach, running and hiding like that. Is that the example you want all Soul Reapers in training to follow? Was Kanisawa your rescuer? Did you already have your mind made up to let students do the heavy lifting while you sat back and watched?" I snipped knowing I was pushing my luck but I was too mad to care.

"SILENCE!" Kanisawa demanded hitting the table again. She rubbed her temples with her thumb and forefinger, a look she seemed to adopt on almost every one of your unfortunate encounters.

"Murasaki... Your blatant disrespect for authority and disregard for the rules leaves me speechless again and again... Quite frankly I don't know what to do with you." she said shrugging animatedly.

"How about letting us out of here with a thank you for saving countless lives and leading the front line against a small scale hollow invasion?" I suggested.

The others looked at me with eyebrows raised as if to ask "You call that small scale?" But so far none of them had said a word.

They all stood there like children being scolded by their parents while I did all the negotiating.

"As you keep reminding me on multiple occasions, Head Girl, I am but a lowly first year less than six months into my training. I shouldn't be able to lift a sword yet, let alone take on hordes of hollows. And yet here we stand after the fact."

"And your reckless behavior and lack of care for safety could have gotten someone killed. Leave it to the professionals, Murasaki!"

I choked out a stunned laugh. "Are you kidding me? I saved those people! I saved my friends! Hell, I even lectured these guys about letting their guard down after we wiped them out! Did I not?" I asked them.

The four of them hesitantly nodded as if really not wanting to be dragged in to this.

"Safety was the one thing on my mind throughout the whole ordeal! This could have been a tragedy if I hadn't led the charge, because I'm sure as hell no one else would have!"

"Enough arguing. Were done here. I'm done with you disobeying and dragging down perfectly good, respectable students with you." She said, affording a quick glance at Renji who bristled.

"Hey, don't look at me, I just tagged along for the ride." He shrugged.

Kanisawa waved him off.

"You are not my responsibility, Abarai. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you encouraged Murasaki's behavior but I'll let Shuhei handle you, as usual. However, Murasaki is unfortunately under my care, and regardless of how much of a handful she is, it's my duty to bring her to justice. From this day forth you are grounded." She decided.

I stared at her in disbelief, then burst out laughing.

"What are you, my mother? The hell is grounding gonna do?"

"Grounding is going to keep you locked up in this building while your roommates bring your work home to you. It is also going to stop you from attending classes, going to meals and going to your precious club gatherings."

The laugh died in my throat and my friends shot horrified glances at me.

"You can't do that!" I yelled my voice cracking as I leaned forward to slap my own hands on the desk. "You can't imprison me like some criminal! I did nothing wrong! You owe me one! ...Shuhei, tell her!" I pleaded turning to him.

He shook his head gravely. "No can do, Kid. You're not my responsibility, Head Girl's word is the law around here. Maybe you'll think twice next time-"

"Think twice about what exactly? Saving people? Destroying monsters with some random weapon that happens to be twice the size of me!? I did that with a handy cap, imagine what I could have done with my real sword! I'm not just some useless kid!"

"I never said you were useless," he countered calmly, standing up straighter she sweeping his long hair out of his eyes. I hardly noticed a thin red cut across his right cheek underneath his hair. I was on a rampage and not about to give up. "This is a joke! Is this what you call justice?! What's the point in learning the stupid theory behind killing those things If we spend our education attacking straw dummies?! Were here to learn, not to be treated like precious, fragile snowflakes! How are we supposed to fulfill our duties as Soul Reapers if our first chance to fight real hollows is in the field in dangerous situation!? Shouldn't we be prepared first?!"

"If you'd have held that temper of yours and thought rationally, you'd have realized that you were against the odds in that fight. Five newbies against hundreds of hollows, and yet instead of focusing on preservation of life and evening those odds you went in for the adrenaline rush and thrill of the fight. If you were really ready to fight those things you'd have thought about it like a real Soul Reaper. But you're not. You're just a kid, barely wet behind the ears. So I suggest instead of mouthing off you sit your ass down and accept your punishment like the pro you think you are. I hate to break this to you, but you're not a pro until you've spent years honing your abilities and proving your worth. You've proven that you have unnatural strength, speed and spiritual pressure and I'm not sure how you have come to be so strong, but you are just too new and too cocky to deserve the recognition you would like."

I stared open-mouthed at Shuhei. I felt like I'd been slapped, just like the rant the Commander had given me on the night of our first Stealth mission. Her sharp, unforgiving gaze swam into my mind, matching that of Shuhei's disappointment and once again my heart ached.

So far, Shuhei had shown me nothing but kindness and felt like a good, reliable friend. Now I saw past that, to the high ranked student who was soon to be absorbed into the ranks of the Seireitei. The stern, hard-faced officer behind the fun-loving musician I had clicked with.

I stared into his eyes and saw nothing but the harsh reality of his words. He didn't waver one bit, he meant what he said. I fought back the waterworks and turned away from him, fighting the hurt and urge to scream at him for taking Kanisawa's side and sank into the seat behind me, defeated by words my head bowed. At that moment with my fists curled, I had the same hate for Shuhei as that asshole Fang from the Stealth Club. Showing me up like that, treating me like a stupid child, time and time again.

"Thank you for talking some sense into her, Head Boy. " Kanisawa said as I sat with my gaze fixed on the floorboards and fists shaking out of view beneath my overly long uniform sleeves.

"I don't believe that you three," she said indicating Kira, Rukia and Momo "Had anything to do with this. I know full well Murasaki is the prime instigator of trouble around here. I'm happy to let the rest of you get off with a single joint detention where you each write an essay about what we discussed here today. The importance of listening to your superiors and what not."

"No!" They shouted back, talking over each other.

"Whatever Kimi does, we will do too!" Momo said.

"That's not fair, we were in it together!" Kira told her.

"Give us all house arrest too, we can handle it!" Rukia suggested.

My heart leaped at their unconditional loyalty.

Kanisawa waved them off. "Nonsense. The whole point of Murasaki's punishment is to isolate her and make her think about her actions. After all, allowing her to spend more time with the innocent people she's dragging down would be more of a reward than a punishment, don't you think, Shuhei?" She taunted with a sickly sweetness behind her voice.

I knew it. This was her revenge for me showing her up in the Emeralds entrance hall that time. This was her abusing her power to get one over on me.

"Get this over with already." I snarled, still not looking up at them so they couldn't see the rage in my eyes.

* * *

Finally, she let us go sending me straight to my room and the having Shuhei escort the others away to detention.

I found out from Momo and Rukia later on, seeing as they couldn't stop me from having contact with my roommates completely, that the whole school had been placed on lockdown and every student was to be escorted around the outside of campus, even if it was to move between two wings of the building via an outdoor courtyard.

They had also brought forward curfew so the students would be locked up safely in bed by the time teams of Soul Reapers came in to conduct extermination hunts around the forest throughout the night.

I couldn't believe how ridiculous this was. So many people with incredible powers crammed into one piece of land and they wouldn't allow any of us to put that potential to good use? To me, this sounded like a major overreaction to a relatively small situation. Why would they send out extermination parties and lock down a school for small, low-level hollows that powerful Soul Reapers could kill with a glance?

I was ready to bet my life that they were hiding something... something big... something big that could shake trees in the distant forest. And there was only one way to find out what that thing was.

It was time for me to break every rule in the book, consequences be damned.

When the clock struck midnight I was already kitted out for my biggest ever nighttime adventure. Ruby was strapped tightly to my side and black clothing covered almost every inch of my skin.

I had to be careful with how I was going to do this. I had a sneaking suspicion that they would be keeping a close eye on me for a while and surely someone would consider my bedroom window to be an escape route. I had no doubt that bugging my window would be something they would do, so finally came the moment to put my newly learned Kido to the test.

I poked my head out of my door to make sure Momo and Rukia were in their rooms before heading out.

I took a deep breath.

"Alright, here goes nothing... Oh, lurking fiends, direct your gaze beyond, unsee those who do not wish for their discretions to be discovered, may the shadows cast their cold grasp across the ones forced into the light, unbidden; Allow no undesired eyes to pierce the veil of mist: Bakudo number 71 - Miemino Fuku!"

I forced my energy outwards, imagining it as a smooth, silky liquid wrapping around me just as the advanced Kido book had suggested. Freezing tendrils seemed to be enveloping my whole body and when I looked down at my hands, they were still visible but had a clear shimmery quality.

"Did it work?" I mumbled. Then realizing there was no one around confirm for me. I wasted no more time. It wasn't worth sneaking out of my window in case anyone was posted to keep an eye on me. If they saw my window open and no one come out, they would know something was up and I didn't need that kind of attention.

I tiptoed across our apartment and opened the door to slip out a crack. The hall was dark as all of the Emerald girls were supposed to be retired for the night. I used the dim red emergency lights to guide me to the stairs and took them a few jumps at a time until I reached the entrance all.

Just as I went to reach for the door handle, hoping against hope that it wasn't locked, it opened from the outside.

"Are the checks complete?" Came a horribly familiar voice from the other side. I jumped sideways, hoping Kanisawa couldn't hear my heart racing as she came through the door with a couple of her student council team.

"Crystal, Sapphire and Ruby have been confirmed. All seemed well. Just Emerald, Amethyst and Diamonds left. No word from Shuhei and his crew yet though."

"Good. Finish up so we can head out. We don't have time to be dallying."

Thankfully she carried on walking toward the stairs and I used the opportunity of the door being ajar to slip through before it could swing shut.

I dove into the bushes beside the door and scurried along towards the edge of the building until I was just underneath my bedroom window overlooking the lake and vast fields.

The Camoflague Kido must have worked... That or she was too distracted to spot me. Either way, I didn't know how much longer I had left on the spell so I shot off towards the vast ocean of tree canopies, stretching as far as the eye could see with an exceptional flash step.

Even if my Kido had worked, it was my first time trying it so I knew it wouldn't last long so I had to get to cover, fast. I had spent my night going through the notes I'd written from my library session in extra preparation for this trip.

It was a clear but chilly night, which unfortunately meant high visibility for anyone who might have me under surveillance and I wasn't naive enough to assume that they would leave me completely unsupervised. Surely, if we were supposed to be locked up they would have guards, but so far security seemed dreadfully lax.

The steady winds blew ripples across the grass as I charged into the tall reeds surrounding the lake for cover and I hoped I hadn't left any obvious tracks in the dewy ground.

When I reached the edge of the reeds closest to the forest I flash stepped again, landing on a low branch just in the tree line. I climbed a little higher hoping that I was out of view of anyone that might be looking out of a window back home.

I stood there for a moment again observing my surroundings to make sure I hadn't been detected. Nothing. No lights were on in the emerald building, no lanterns carried by senior patrols and strangely no signs of hunting parties as they had promised. Not even a single person sitting on the roof above my window as I had partly expected.

Surely if this was such a big deal they would have people dotted around to thwart curious troublemakers like me, unless they were already tracking prey deeper in the forest...

I took a deep breath, savoring my apparent triumph. It had been a while since I had felt this invigorated. I was used to sneaking out now, but nothing felt better than coming out on top under tough circumstances. The more someone told me NO, the more I did what I wasn't supposed to be doing and they were too dumb to stop me.

With a satisfied grin beneath my mask, I went to turn and head east into the darkness when a hand touched my shoulder and gripped tightly.

I squealed loudly as almost fell out of my tree in fright and the hand switched positions to stifle my shout.

Regaining my balance I whirled around, my hand already Ruby's handle, expecting a fight.

To my astonishment there stood Renji, wearing all black with a tight fit black winter sweater that showed off the curves of his arm muscles, and baggy cargo pants. He was leaning against the trunk behind me as if he had been there all night and I was disturbing his peaceful stroll.

"Took you long enough, Porcupine," he mumbled looking amused by my scared reaction.

"Renji!? What the hell are you doing here!?"

"Same reason you are, I assume. Got pissed off with all the secrecy, couldn't sleep a wink and decided to go do some of my own investigating. Just happened to see your light go off so I waited to see if you were in rule-breaker mode" he smirked.

I nearly headbutted the tree in despair.

"Was I that obvious?" I groaned.

"Nah, you were fast. I just know you too well and happened to be looking in your direction at the right time. Doesn't look like they set guards around the perimeter though, not another Soul out here from what I can sense."

I focused on the atmosphere around me and strangely he was right. There were definite but dull spiritual pressures off in the distance and in the direction of the school and Seireitei, but nothing in our immediate area.

"I don't get it... They make a big show of locking everyone up but then have no security? It makes no sense"

"Makes me wonder where all of their people are, obviously they're needed elsewhere" he pondered.

I mulled that over for a moment. "Right, I think I've got an idea but if you come with me you can't just change your mind and turn back, so speak or forever hold your peace."

He stared with an inked eyebrow raised. "Shut the hell up and tell me the plan."

"Fine, don't blame me if you get caught. Now listen up and listen well: You can tag along as long as you don't get in the way and can keep up with my pace. I won't slow down to let you catch up. I think those spiritual pressures will take us right to the action so that's where we will go. I'll keep an eye out for signs of hollows, footprints and stuff so we don't walk into anything nasty. You better watch your set too. I can't have you making mistakes on me. And for crying out loud, do something about your hair!"

"What's wrong with it!?"

"You stick out like a strawberry in a bowl of cream! Here-" I pulled the woolly winter bobble hat off my head and my almost waist long hair flowed out freely, my hair band making a bid for freedom.

"Put this on before someone spots your red pineapple head glowing like a sore thumb! And take your bandana off, you can use it as a face mask. Good grief, kids these days don't have a clue how to be stealthy," I tutted disappointed.

"Alright, geez, gimme a break. Anyone would think you do this for a living," he complained reluctantly accepting my offering as I turned to pull my hair up into a tight bun with a spare hair tie I always had on my wrist for practical classes.

When I didn't answer and averted my guilty icy blues from his dark brown gaze, he stared me down.

"I mean, you would never do that, right?" He asked suspiciously.

I paused to think of a suitable answer, or even better an excuse, but nothing came to mind.

"Between the two of us... This isn't my first rodeo."

"Huh, you don't say. I can tell. You seem to know your way around a dark forest that's for sure. You gotta work on your Kido though, that vanishy trick didn't last long"

I cringed. "I thought so. It was my first attempt. How long did it last?"

"You became visible in the reeds but you were a blur. If you hadn't landed so close to me I wouldn't have found you. Good idea though"

I cursed. "Yeah definitely gotta work on that. Let's just say that moonlit strolls have been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember, not that anyone else knows that. I've been worried about being spotted so Iv been doing some self-guided studying at the library"

Why was I telling him this? Why did I trust Renji, my arch nemesis rival that I had only considered to be a friend in the last few months, with information that could get me expelled, more than my trusted roommates who were like sisters to me?

This was a prime example of how to get yourself found out, with loose lips.

I imagined him taking the gossip to Rukia, Kira and Momo tomorrow. I suddenly blushed bright red and moved deeper into the shadows of the tree so he wouldn't notice. If our friends ever found out Renji and I snuck out for a midnight rendezvous, they would take it the totally wrong way and never let us live it down!

"Please don't tell the others I sneak out! I can't have them knowing!" I suddenly blurted in a panic.

He smirked, calculation clearly running through his brain. "What's in it for me?"

"I'll... I'll... let you win in all of our combat lessons for a week and allow Kira to give you the points! I'll go easy on you!"

He made an indignant pft sound and waved me off. "Oh please, Iv been wanting you to take me seriously for months because you're the only one who can give me a good fight, so why would I want you to stop pounding me into the ground now? The challenge is all the fun"

My heart leaped at the compliment and I stared around for inspiration. "Okay, so I'll go hard on you as usual, but allow you the last dedicating hit so it looks like I lose."

"Hm, Sounds like a fair trade" he shrugged holding out a hand for me to shake. "But only if you fill me in on what's been going on. Is this sneaking around the reason you look like a zombie sometimes?"

I sighed and took his hand in a firm grip. "You read me like a book. Fine, I'll explain to you as we search, but cmon we can't stand here all night, let's get moving before were discovered. And why the hell were you looking at my window anyways!?" I demanded finally clicked with what he said.

"Coincidence. Quit making me sound like a perv and move your ass!"

It felt like the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders when I came clean to Renji. I found myself telling him everything: How I discovered the Stealth Club that night at the party when I slipped away from him, the initiation and the truth behind the failed robbery that had the school buzzing, the real reason I rushed out after dropping the book on my face, bungling my theft of Kanisawa's paperwork, my rage at the Commander's golden pupil treating me like dirt.

He was a good listener, he just let me tell my story start to finish as we bounded from tree to tree never touching the forest floor so not to leave tracks in the mud.

For so long I'd bottled it all up. I'd never had anyone to confide in or share my excitement and frustration with so unable to stop myself. I let it all spill out.

When I was done he simply let out a low whistle.

"You can never call your life boring,"

"No, but I can call it a pain in the ass. It's so troublesome at times."

"Yeah but it's not like trouble finds you, let's be honest"

"What are you trying to say? That I'm the one looking for the trouble? I'll have you know I'm an innocent who gets landed in difficult situations. Trouble finds me." I said in mock pride.

"And i'm the Soul King's great grandmother." he scoffed. "But I'm glad you've told me, a lot of the crazy crap you do actually makes sense now"

"It just never made sense because you never knew the bigger picture. I'm glad you're not telling me to stop and be a good girl... I know that's what the others would say... That's why I haven't told them"

He laughed "Do I look like a good boy? I'd be a hypocrite if I said that. The others are well behaved, follow the rules by the book, law-abiding students. I mean look at Momo, she cant recite every page of the handbook in by heart and we barely know what's on the front cover.

We are the adventure seekers, we want fun and excitement. If I was in your position I'd do the same; Hell I'd join you every night if I could"

The idea of having a partner in crime to accompany me on those hard, sometimes lonely missions suddenly felt appealing. Just having Renji here gave me some strange sense of comfort or safety. I wasn't sure if it was just because I knew I had back up if I got into any difficulty, or if it was just having another human for company. A vision of Renji being there to have my back the next time Fang challenged me popped into my imagination. Duo-kicking his ass would be so much fun.

"I don't think the Stealth Club would take new members now, and the Commander always says that she doesn't want members who aren't serious about joining the Stealth Forces anyway. She's very strict."

"The Stealth Force is like a military camp, but the other squads are more relaxed. It makes sense for them to need serious members... But, is that really the kind of life you want to graduate in to? You're not exactly good at following orders..."

"I know I'm not, but that's something I would have to learn. It's the only thing I'm good at... I've always been good at sneaking around, information gathering, that kinda stuff. Even sitting in my father's roof to listen to his private conversations as a kid... They just came naturally to me... I'd be useless at anything else. If I don't get into Squad two... I don't know what I'll do... Who else would want me..." I said, voicing my biggest fear for the first time.

"Hey, don't think like that! That's completely wrong. Not many people have the power to take on hordes of hollows almost single-handedly as a first year"

"That's bull and you know it! You saw how much I struggled with that weapon, without you guys I'd have been monster meat"

"That was a one-time situation. Look at you, you're tiny but even with barely being able to swing the sword you killed so many of them. Without you, we would have probably gone running for the hills like the rest of the class. You kept us grounded and focused. That's some team leader shit right there, and that's the kind of thing squads look for. I think any squad would happily take you in if they knew what you were capable of"

"But instead I'm more likely to be punished for going the extra mile" I sighed sadly.

"Yeah well, that's school for ya. They want us all to fit into molds, not stand out in the crowd. But I'm certain the more daring stuff you do, the more the Squad recruiters will notice you"

I didn't know what to say. He was being so... Nice. So honest and encouraging. Such a different side to the guy who had made it his life's mission to see how many insults he could fit into one conversation with me. It seemed like his mean side was just a performance in front of his friends, and now that it was just the two of us he seemed really, genuinely nice.

"Thank you, Renji. I'm sure you'll have no problem too"

We continued following the spiritual pressure signatures in the distance until suddenly all of them dimmed, like a group of light bulbs dimming all at once.

"Did you feel that?" He asked.

"Yeah... That's was weird. It's like they just... stopped"

"They haven't vanished completely though so they're not dead. It's like they all just stopped using their energy all at the same... Like they were forced to stop?"

This bothered me. "Cmon let's move faster, we need to find out what's going on"

Further along the path, we ran into a patch of trees with a sparse canopy that allowed the moonlight to shine through to the forest floor.

I looked down and froze.

"Renji-!"

"Huh? Whoa..."

Below is was the reason the canopy had suddenly become so open. Trees lay flat across the ground. some toppled and leaning on their neighbors and some completely uprooted. Around them were distinct human footprints, hundreds of them all embedded in the mud.

I dropped down and landed in the shade of some overgrown roots, Renji appeared beside me.

"What the hell happened here?" He asked staring around in bewilderment.

"This must be what I saw from the library window the other night... wait- no these footprints are fresh. The mud is still wet here."

"Over here too-" Renji said lifting his foot out of the sludge to demonstrate.

"There was definitely a fight here, look- "

The footprints were in all directions as though there had been many people here all vying for a good position. A few feet away there was a tree with a distinct sword slash in its bark, and the more I looked the more signs of missed sword attacks and stray Kido spells I found.

I stepped forward and almost fell flat on my face. "Uh, what the-"

I lurched. I thought I had fallen into a ditch when in fact it was a huge footprint that was as far from the shape and size of a human I had ever seen.

"That's gotta be a Hollow... I can fit five of me in there" Renji said stepping into the print with both feet together to compare. "This thing is nothing like what we fought earlier..."

My stomach did a back flip. Was I in over my head? "It's too late to turn back now, we might as well keep looking but if we find them well just observe from a distance"

"Got it. There's no way in hell I'm fighting this thing"

We ran faster following the trail of footprints with more urgency in our strides, not bothering to use the trees to cover our tracks as our prints would be indistinguishable from the hundreds that were already pressed into the ground.

Suddenly there was an ear-splitting, inhuman screech that reverberated around the forest.

Renji and I stumbled to a stop to flinch and cover our ears. The sound shot tendrils of fear through my chest and I could tell by Renji's wide eyes that he was scared too, but we keep running. "This way! They're close!"

The forest suddenly opened up into a vast clearing and I skidded to a halt. Renji went into the back of me but regained his balance with a hand on my shoulder.

Right there on the far side of the clearing was a crowd of people, all in black uniforms with swords in their hands. Only feet in front of us with its back to us was a huge, hulking creature that reminded me of some sort of oversized rodent. Tiny legs and feet with a huge furry brown body and a swath of matted green human-like hair on its head.

In a few slow seconds, my brain processed the scene before me.

"Crap, get down!" I hissed dragging Renji down into the brush beside us by the hand.

"That was close, I hope no one saw us"

"I think they've got more pressing problems on their hands, like big, fat and hairy over there-" he said sarcastically. We scurried along behind the tree line to get into a better position in case they fired at the hollow and we got caught in the attack.

Renji got up into his knees to get a better look at the gathering over the top bush.

"Yeah, well, can't exactly miss something that big- Hey don't give away our position, someone might see you!" then a thought occurred to me. Why was it so quiet? Why was the no fighting? I listened to the silence for a moment.

Instead of looking over the top of the bush I pushed some of the foliage aside to create a little peephole. I only had a view of one party at a time, but it became terribly obvious that there was something wrong with the Reaper hunting party.

They had their swords in their hands slack at their sides, gaunt unfocused expressions on their faces and from what I could see at this distance they were all walking forward, step by tentative step. "What the hell... You seeing this?" I asked but when I looked up at Renji was gone.

"Ren- Oh shit..." There he was wondering away absent-mindedly just like the others, Rin the sword dragging along the floor still sheathed on his hand.

"Renji, get back here right now!" But he acted like he was in another universe walking willingly into danger.

The hollow must be using some sort of mind control, but in that case, how was I not affected? I wondered looking frantically for understanding so I could help.

I had only looked at its back when we arrive and when I peeked through the bush at this Central position I only had a small field of view, but Renji and the Soul Reapers saw its face. That must be it.

Iv got to do something! I can't just let them be eaten! I looked all around me hoping to find another option than the only one that was floating around in my mind.

Knowing I would regret the decision later I left Renji to amble off like a zombie and sprinted around the clearing until I was directly behind the monster in the position we arrived at.

I knelt down, unsheathed ruby and focused until my energy was flowing freely, then directed it into the sword. All I needed was to break the hollows spell and get the Reapers to do the rest of the work. Easy in theory.

"So much for just observing... Here goes nothing-" I encouraged myself, wishing I had a real Zanpakuto with Shikai at that moment.

Without a sound I dashed forward and vaulted into the air, my sword blade glowing white with icy energy and gripped with both hands pointing down like a dagger.

"Over here you big ugly bastard!" I shouted.

The hollow looked around a split second before the shimmering steel reached its head, allowing Ruby to be buried into its forehead instead of the back. I hadn't seen until now, but there was a long appendage dangling from its forehead that looked a little bit like those Angler fish with the dangling light bulbs... Like a fishing lure. It had been luring those people towards it!

It gave a scream that almost burst my eardrums at this point blank range when the fishing rod got sliced clean off by Ruby, and the rest of the sword embedded itself into its mask causing a thin crack to form right down the center of its big ugly face. It started throwing me around, writhing like a bucking donkey and still screaming in agony.

My sword wasn't strong enough to shatter its mask completely but it had pierced a few inches down none the less. Some damage was better than nothing.

"That got your attention, huh? You want some more?!" I focused my energy again, this time into my hand. I'm not sure how I managed to hold on with one hand but I shot my first ever incantation-less Shakkaho into its face and pushed off with my legs, yanking Ruby out as I went.

With a flip, I landed roughly a few feet away and turned to see, to my amazement, that it had done the trick. The hypnotized Reapers and Renji had snapped out of their trance and were looking around in confusion, but they seemed okay.

"Everyone wake up! Get it while it's down!" I called out and they seemed to snap to attention, noticing me for the first time.

They began to move forward, then froze as if they saw something that paralyzed them in their tracks.

Every single one of them stared with looks of shock on their face. One of the Reapers gave a garbled grunt of terror and Renji stumbled backward as if forcing his frozen limbs to react.

They weren't looking at me, they were looking towards the heavens.

"BEHIND YOU!" Renji roared and I looked up.

Flying towards us in the sky was another hollow, unmistakeable even with its chalky white underbelly set in grey shadow against the moonlight at its back, blocked out by its dragon-like wings.

It dived, swooping down at an unbelievable speed.

I managed to force myself to move and flash stepped back into the brush out of its flight path with only a second to spare.

All I saw was it's monstrous shadow cast the entire area into darkness, then noise, light and heat. Then nothing.

The impact on the ground rattled my brain and seemed to have knocked me out for a moment. When I came too I couldn't work out what was happening.

I couldn't tell where I was, I didn't know left from right, up from down. Nothing looked familiar. The forest was gone and I was surrounded by smoldering branches, small patches of burning wood, charred ground and hot coals littered the ground around me.

For a moment I thought I'd been transported to a volcanic wasteland, then the fleeting image of the dragon-hollow hit me.

My gaze shot to the sky, obscured by plumes of smoke and fluttering embers, the moon blacked out by sheer destruction. There was no visible sign of the winged menace.

Then I came back to my senses and realized I was surrounded by spreading fire... Red colored fire... Red like someones hear...

"Oh god where is he!? Renji?! RENJI?!" I called out, fear creeping into my voice. If he was dead it would be all my fault! "Renji?! Where are you?!"

Then a faint call came from my left and my heart jumped in relief.

"Kimi! Over here!"

I ran towards his voice, stumbling with legs like jelly, avoiding flames that hadn't flickered out yet and holding my ribs as I coughed through the smoke.

There he was, kneeling amoung a pile of fallen trees right in the edge of the forest that had just escaped the inferno.

I ran to him and grabbed him by the front of his jumper.

It was charred in places and large tears opened up to see his blackened and scratched muscles.

"You idiot! Why did come with me! I told you it would be dangerous!" My voice cracked. He put both hands on my shoulders and pushed me away slowly.

"I'm fine, I just lost my real eyebrows again, okay? It's a good job I've got ink now, no big deal" against my will I laugh holding back a sob of mixed fear and guilt.

"NO BIG DEAL?" My voice cracked as staring around into the sheer desolation surrounding us. "How can you possibly be making fun of this situation?!" I croaked punching him weakly in the chest causing him to cough too, though I heard a laugh in there.

"I'm so sorry for bringing you here. I should never have let you join me. You need to get home now!"

"What about you? You can't stay, not on your own"

"I won't be in my own," I said pointing to my right.

The clearing was gone. Instead, there was a giant impact crater, like a giant had dragged a plow through there to create a primitive road.

To my surprise all the Soul Reapers were all standing in the middle of the crater looking unharmed and ready for a fight, staring towards the sky with their swords drawn.

The first hollow that I attacked was nowhere to be seen so I could only assume that the dragon had eaten it.

I had felt their energies as I searched for Renji's spiritual pressure in the debris, but I had no idea how they had come out unscathed.

"This is my mess, that thing came here because I attacked the other hollow, I have to help them!"

Now he grabbed me by the collar and shook me. "What is wrong with you?! Stop playing the hero and just walk away! This is none of your concern now, think more about yourself for a change instead of walking into danger"

I shook my head. "Not this time. I've got to do this. If I hadn't have gotten involved this wouldn't have happened"

"You don't know that! That thing was probably on its way whether you attacked it or not-"

"I think the first hollow's cry brought that thing here, Im certain of it! It appeared as if he had teleported here, that's no coincidence! This is my fault, I need to fix this mess."

"No-"

I cut across his argument. "Promise me you'll go home. Get yourself cleaned up and if I don't come back you can't admit you were involved. Just act like you know nothing"

He went to interrupt me again and I shook him by the collar again. "Renji, promise me!"

"No!"

"RENJI"

"I-You-Ugh! Why're you so difficult!? Whatever just be careful-"

"There's no time for that, run before it gets too close!" I said pointing towards the stars as the wind changed direction and the winged Shadow came looming back into view beyond the billowing smoke. It seemed to be positioning itself for another pass.

Before Renji could argue I stood and ran as fast as I could towards the Soul Reapers.

He cursed loudly calling for me to come back but I ignored him.

I skidded down the embankment created in its first dive bomb attack and landed close to the group of Reapers, ripping my sword from its sheath.

"Who are you?" A young woman with long dark hair twisted into an elegant half bun demanded upon my arrival, barely sparing me a glance.

"Back up," I said simply not bothering to grope around for a lie to tell.

"You're with the Patrol Unit? About time you got here, where are the others?"

I went to tell her that we had more important problems but the incoming roaring beast made her realize that for herself.

"Brace yourselves!" She instructed the group before raising her hands, palms crossed towards the sky.

"Bakudo 40: Engei Ou!" She called out without reciting an incantation. The beast was practically on top of us and I flinched waiting for impact but a huge shimmering blue dome flashed into existence enveloping our whole group.

The hollows eagle-like talons crashed into the shield on feet from my head and caused a ripple effect across its surface.

The woman, who I assumed to be the leader, held it in place until the thing came in to land with hovering flaps of its wings that kicked up dust and debris in our direction, battering the shield more.

From this close up I had a much better look at it. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, like some insane science experiment gone wrong. Covered in the same chalky white armor of its smaller brethren but at closer inspection parts of that armor were layered with thick white scales that glowed amber like burning lava at the roots when it roared.

Its body was that of a dragon with leathery wings attached to its thick muscular arms, but its head was that of a lion, with a full mane of fiery rocks.

It leaned back on its hind legs and roared at us once more sending a shockwave of dust toward us, showing its deadly sharp rows of teeth.

"What do we do?" I asked faintly.

I had never expected anything like this. I'd come to see what was happening and maybe kill a few more small fries, but this? This was not what I signed up for.

"This guy is a high-rank Menos Grande, high up on the wanted list too. We hadn't been expecting it to appear but from what I can remember off the top of my head, it drops bombs which explode if touched and after a while they explode on their own. If we can knock the bomb scales off while he's not fired up then detonate them while they're on the ground we'll leave him defenseless for capture"

That whole explanation went over my head at the word capture.

"You want to keep this thing!? Does this look like a pet to you?!"

"Not at all, but there's a bounty out for it from the Department for Research and Development that demands it be delivered alive. I'm dropping the barrier, get ready!"

And without any more planning, we scattered.

My hands shaking violently I rushed to the side out of range of its dangerous looking mouth and hopefully out of range of the bombs if it decided to drop them.

Sure enough, moments later is scales flared up and shot off like cannonballs, scattering throughout the area.

Some exploded upon landing, others blended in with the mud.

"Crap! Watch your step!" I called making sure to watch the floor before I moved. This was not my environment at all. I didn't dare go fast here for fear of losing a leg, or worse.

As instructed, we kited around the dragon until its scales went dormant, then we let loose.

While the others went for places like its wings to stop it from flying and ankles to make it fall, I shot up to its back, running along its spine until I reached its tail, somehow managing to hold on while the thing bucked and reared.

I managed to stab my sword into the gap between a few scales chipping them away like big burning scabs.

Its hide was so thick that I only managed a few on each try, but after a while, I began to understand and see a pattern.

Its face, chest and ankles seemed weak. Its wings were far too thick to damage with our swords alone but beneath its scale was far more sensitive skin that I found after I'd climbed up there a few times.

I landed on the ground next to the leader-lady. "Hey, you were right! Wait for it to finish getting fired up, then knock off the dormant scales so we can't get bombed. When its skin is exposed we then attack the raw flesh!"

"Understood" she said, darting away again.

I suddenly felt more in control again and my confidence was returning with a much-needed boost of adrenaline.

It took flight once again, staying low to the ground to swing a wide pass around the area and drop whatever bombs it could produce.

We avoided them, throwing rocks and other scattered floor debris to explode the hidden mines on the ground before someone stepped on one.

When it came in for landing, I went for another attack on its back but out of nowhere, it's tail came swinging in my direction like a wrecking ball.

Too late to change direction I braced myself for impact forcing my energy outwards and hoping that my trusty old spirit energy shield wouldn't fail me.

But I didn't need it. Suddenly I wasn't in the line of danger anymore, I was surrounded by warmth and the smell of charred clothing. I looked up into Renji's face as he cradled me and fell towards the ground.

"Didn't I tell you to get out of here!?" I demanded though I was actually happy to see him in a way.

"Hey, it wasn't a pinky promise so it didn't count," he smirked.

"You asshole!" I laughed wrapping my arms around his neck to hold on for landing. Thankfully the floor was clear and he placed me down way out of range of the hollow's thrashing tail.

"Thanks, but If you get hurt don't blame me," I said.

"How was I supposed to just leave you here? Did you think I would be able to keep it to myself if you never came back? Use your head Princess Dumb-Ass!"

"How rude! If you're gonna help, new nicknames are not what you need to be thinking of right now. We need a plan!"

As its scales stopped glowing for the umpteenth time I went in for another attack. As I sped forward, extremely conscious of my proximity to its tail I happened to look up and see a loose bomb plummeting to the ground.

Right in its path was the leader-lady, slashing away at its feet with the others, completely obvious to the danger falling from above.

I dived on her and pushed her out of the way, landing on top of her a few feet away.

The scale exploded right where she had been standing.

"Look out, those things still go off after they're removed, you need to have eyes in the back of your head for this fight!" I told her, offering a hand to help her up which she took gratefully. Even when covered in mud she still had an air of gracefulness and poise.

She peered at me in surprise. "You... You're not from the Patrol Unit... that's an Asauchi... You're a student!" She said coming to an understanding.

"You're welcome for saving you, I guess" I tsked then got up and ran to meet up with Renji and explain the situation properly.

We continued attacking and eventually, once the Reapers started to understand the hollow's attack pattern and abilities, far slower than I came to understand them, we managed to chip off every one of the bombs and the Soul Reapers let loose.

All around us, Zanpakuto were being awakened and Renji and I stood back at the embankment, unable to do much more.

"Get back-" the leader said running in front of us. "Let us handle the rest. Entangle: Gardenia!" She called elegantly sliding her sword out of its mahogany sheath by its rosy-red colored handle.

Right before my eyes, her sword began to transform, the shining metal blade morphing into long, thick green vines with thorns poking out at odd angles.

"Root!" She commanded, throwing her arm forward as if she was cracking a whip.

The vines extended, crashing into the ground, disappearing for a moment then bursting out of the dirt to wrap around the dragon's legs like a giant tree sprouting from nowhere just as the beast was rearing and flapping its wings to take flight.

I could see in its movements that it was tiring. It seemed sluggish compared to its earlier attacks.

"Set up the array quick! I'm not sure how long I can hold it!" She instructed and the other Soul Reapers began laying large metal cylinders around the creature in a circle on the floor.

In unison, they all read out an incantation and the cylinders burst open, emitting a beam of purple light.

The beams shot into the air and seemed to attract to each other like seeking magnets, meeting at a point in the sky to form a dome over the hollow.

Before the gaps in between each beam could be filled to form a force field cage, the Soul Reapers threw in what looked like smoke bombs and within the minutes the monster fell to the ground with one finally weak roar, tranquilized by the smoke billowing around inside its prison.

The leader gave a huge sigh of relief and called her Zanpakuto back, causing the roots to retreat underground and shrink back into the shape of a normal sword.

I was staring up at the thing in awe when she turned to me.

"Hey, you-" she said bringing me back to reality. I realized what I was doing. I'd been discovered and I was just standing here!? I looked down, noticing that my Stealth Club gear was in tatters, a whole had burned to expose my ribs and the sleeves were gone, somehow my mask, hood and fingerless gloves were still intact and thank god as my hair colour and scar would have been the sort of features that could give away my identity.

I looked up, spying the other Soul Reapers gathering behind her. Suddenly I felt like the hunted instead of the hunter. We were cornered.

I clutched at what remained at Renji's sleeve, ready to run and then froze.

My eyes widening and my heart made a desperate leap to get out of my mouth. Over the leader's shoulder highlighted in the moonlight was a group hurrying along the impact crater, lead by a small figure in a long white cloak.

"A Captain?!" I croaked completely freaking out. I didn't stick around to find out who it was.

"We've gotta go now or well be dead! Quick, RUN!"

The two of us escaped the area like bats out of the depths of hell, running as fast as our shaking legs would allow us not daring to look back.

* * *

"Miyako!" A man called from the arriving group.

Miyako turned to see her husband running towards her with worry written all over his face. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

"What happened? Are you okay?!"

"Kaien... That girl... The student in black... She saved us all..."

"That's- wait, what? A student? That's impossible," he said holding her at arm's length, looking her over as if expecting to see that she had hit her head.

She shook her head. "We were careless. Even after all the preparation, we got caught in the fisher's lure but she's broke it's spell"

"Wait, I'm confused, where's the fisher?"

"It's dead." Came the cold voice from behind him. He turned.

"Captain Soi Fon?"

"This is the Beelzabeast. It's attracted by the scent of blood and murderous intent. That girl attracted its attention with her intent to kill it and save the squad, then it came in and ate the blood source, being the injured fisher." She explained.

"Captain! The girl... I thought she was one of your people! She didn't act like a student at all"

"I issued no orders for my people to be dispatched on this raid. Squad Thirteen are the only personnel present here."

"Please, Captain, let her go! I owe her my life two times over. She saved me from the Beelzabeast's bombs too. You mustn't punish her!" Miyako pleaded.

"I am sorry Third Seat, but I cannot do that. If she is indeed a student, she and her friend just broke every single rule in the book by being here tonight. I cannot let them escape."

Miyako grimaced. "I understand... But please, when you catch her, at least allow me to thank her first"

Soi Fon paused to consider the idea, her long braids swinging in the wind as she turned away from the group to get a better look at the Beelzebeast, then finally she nodded gravely.

"Captain, could it have been-" another voice asked from behind her. She turned to see Shuhei standing there looking at strong, smart and perceptive as always in his blue uniform and golden Head Boy's badge.

"Possibly." She answered absentmindedly running her fingers over the black beaded bracelet beneath the sleeve of her Captain's cloak. She didn't need him to finish his question. The same thought ran through her mind too. That familiar, cold spirit energy could very well be the same girl that had caught her eye only a few days ago. She glanced at Shuhei, spotting the thin slash on his cheek just beneath his long raven black hair. The single war-wound that confirmed his first ever defeat.

"Very well, Third seat. I can permit that request. Lieutenant Shiba-"

"Yes ma'am," Kaien said releasing Miyako and standing to attention.

"Accompany Lieutenant Omaeda in the search for our little truants. Bring them back unharmed." She said just as the rotund Lieutenant Omaeda finally plodded onto the scene, late as always.

"Captain, what did I miss?" He wheezed panting to catch his breath. She clenched her eyes shut as if willing herself not to slap him into next Tuesday.

"Lieutenant Shiba, please fill him in along the way. I will await your return while we organize the collection of the captive."

"As you wish Captain." and Kaien took off into the wood.

Omaeda stared after the much fitter, younger Lieutenant in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding me, I only just got here!" Then he waddled off like a bloated walrus after a target that was already long gone.

"Head Girl-" she said turning her attention to the tall mousey blonde hovering behind Shuhei, staring around at the destruction.

"Just in case she makes it back... and for your boys too Shuhei. Inform the other dorm leaders."

"Yes, ma'am. We will find them either way." And they both disappeared.

Soi Fon stood there alone except for the team of low-rank officers attending to the captive hollow, staring up at the moon solely. "Who are you, girl?"

* * *

A/N: We-hey! There we go, the main event, finally! Hope you guys liked it and hopefully someone can understand how what just happened has completely changed the outcome of the canon.

In case you were wondering, the Beelzabeast is inspired by my Monster Hunter World arch nemesis the Bazelguese. Stupid airplane-dragon always diving bombing my poor little light bow gunner and KOing her :( If you haven't played MHW just google the Bazelguese and you'll see what I mean about dive bombing

I needed something big for her to fight and couldn't think of a better enemy.

I kinda imagine the scene with Kanisawa to be a bit like Snape telling off Ron and Harry in the chamber of secrets after flying the car xD

And yes, that Kido was made up. I'm a bit crap as thinking of incantations but their translations make no sense anways so its fine~

3rdSeatofSquad2

Does that confirm your suspicions of who the Commander is? :P

No, Kimi won't be that highranked in the squad to begin with. She's a big believer in climbing your way to the top so she'll start a bit lower than 3rd seat.

I can't compare Kimi's Zanpakuto situation to any other character specifically because it's unique. Let's just say that night in the forest where Aizen stabbed her with Kyoka Suigetsu, he did it for a reason and he has BIG plans for her... Big white and scary plans with teeth and claws that don't belong in the Soul Society. That's a loooong way away though, probably towards the end of the pre-canon arc and onwards.

She will have limited use of her Zanpakuto in a similar way to Yumichika.

She will use a fake name to make people think she knows it and use the excuse that it's just a stubborn/lazy sword so she doesn't have to perform Shikai, so it will mostly be a melee weapon until she decides to use it in "emergencies"

But that's more for everyones safety because if she uses her power everyone will be in danger. So even when she does find out it's true name she refuses to use it unless shes desperate. Again, not gonna happen for a while.

Yep, she will get to know the usual characters and make friends (or foes) with them. Naturally her and Ikkaku get on like a house on fire for their love of sparring and Yumichika is always tagging along anyways.

She will join the Women's association pretty much on graduating when she first hears about it.

I doubt the RangikuXGin flame will be obvious to romance-clueless Kimi, but she loathes Gin so no doubt she'll have a few choice words about Rangiku's love life if ever she finds out, straight forward and blunt with her opinions as always lol

Remember that this story is currently taking place in the past, so "their old Captain" isn't the old Captain, YET. All those events are still to happen, and Kimi will be smack bang in the centre of it all.

She won't find out about Unohana until the end like everyone else, or if the canon timeline shifts permit it, I may decide to reveal her earlier but no plans there. The only plan I have for the blood war arc is the reveal of Kimi's true heritage and biological parents :P

I do agree with Tatsuki, she's too strong to be left as a human, and with the amount of exposure she has had, she should at least be a full bringer like Orihime. A friend of mine was supposed to write a sister story/sequel to this where he had plans for Tatsuki's development as a main/supporting characters from his OC's human perspective, but he writes like a chapter every 2 years ago so at this rate I'll catch up, hijack it and write it myself lol Dark Raven Day, I'm talking to you mister! Move your ass!

So yeah, when the opportunity pops up I am gonna feature Tatsuki more and build her a bit so Dark Raven Day expect discord messages when I get to that point, gonna need your input on it seeing as you're the one developing her :)

Hope you enjoyed! More coming soon with a little bit more filler stuff before the approaching end of the academy arc. I only have the next ones in notes so might take me longer to upload now that's they're not sitting completed on my desktop. Cya soon, don't forget to review!


	37. Paranoia & Preparations

Chapter 37 - Paranoia & Preparations

We arrived back at the edge of the campus in record time. I couldn't feel my legs anymore, but I didn't allow myself to relax. Before we left the shade of the trees I turned to Renji.

"Get home as quickly and quietly as you can. They will come after us so you need to hurry. Don't let anyone see you, travel through the shadows, do not step into the light unless it's unavoidable. When you get back clean yourself up and get rid of your clothes, or at least hide them but don't let your roommates know. Understand?"

He nodded, too shaken to answer.

"Good, be careful and don't mention anything to anyone. Get in bed and pretend you've been there all night as soon as you can. I'll see you soon," and for the second time I cast my camouflage Kido and bolted off towards my bedroom window across the vast field and lake.

When I got back I slipped through the window at a crack and locked it behind me silently, completely forgetting to check it for bugs for surveillance like I had before leaving, but that didn't seem to matter right now. On my floor was a towel from my shower the previous morning. I stripped down, burying my singed clothes into the corner of my closet and poured a half-empty bottle of water from my nightstand over my skin and the towel, scrubbing myself quickly.

I managed to get the soot off my face, but the smell of fire was still there. I upended the last of the water onto my hair and combed it through before spraying myself with some perfume that my parents had sent me for my birthday.

I threw on a baggy t-shirt with a pattern of a kitten playing with a ball of wool and jumped into bed, making sure to roll around and make myself look like I had been there all night: Messy covers, bed hair, the works.

I was too nervous to sleep. Every creaking floorboard, every drip of the shower head in the next room, every gust of wind outside of my window felt like someone was coming for me. I lay there staring at my ceiling trying to piece together what had just happened. It all came by so fast that I could barely remember the details, like an unsettling dream I had just woken up from.

Sure enough, around an hour later, long after midnight just as my weariness overtaking my fear, a blaring alarm began to sound and I rocketed up out of bed startled.

I didn't have to fake my surprise. I ran out of my room into the hall at the same time as Rukia and Momo.

"What's going on?!" They asked also in pyjamas, eyes heavy with sleep.

"What is that sound? A fire alarm?" I shouted over the ear-piercing noise.

I hurried forward not bothering to put on better clothes, opening our apartment front door and peering out. Our neighbours were doing the same, the dorm building main lights were off and red alarm lights rotating constantly at either end of the corridor.

"Everybody up! Everyone get downstairs and line up in the assembly hall, now!" A voice called from the end of the corridor, barely audible over the noise.

Kanisawa strode towards from the top of the stairs still wearing her school uniform at this time of night. Clearly, she had been out patrolling somewhere while everyone else was tucked away in bed.

She glared at me as she passed, looking me up and down as if expecting to catch me red-handed in my black Stealth gear. As if I would be stupid enough to still be wearing it.

The three of us went down with the rest of the occupants and waited as instructed. I intentionally stayed towards the back of the room leaning casually on the back wall hoping that the smell of smoke would be undetectable after my improvised shower, but it wasn't worth risk of getting close to people and letting them notice. I wasn't naive enough to think that Kanisawa didn't have plenty of snitches in the dorm who would be happy to rat me out if they spotted something suspicious like the smell of burnt clothes when I should have been in bed.

Once everyone was there Kanisawa flicked a switch on the wall to deactivate the alarm and climbed on stage to address us.

"I pray that none of my girls would be stupid enough to disobey direct orders," she began, her eyes finding me like radar. I rolled my eyes and looked away to examine my none existent fingernails in response, showing her that I didn't care for her assumptions. "But the reason that we give you orders is for you to follow them. As I'm sure you all know by now, earlier today there was a hollow attack on campus, so we called an early curfew and kept all students locked in their quarters for their own protection while we carried out investigations and hunted down the last hollows. However, _SOMEONE_ " she said emphasizing the accusatory word. "In fact, two someone's, male and female, broke that order and went out there to do a little bit of their own hunting tonight."

There were whispers of surprise and interest around the crowd.

Momo and Rukia looked around wide-eyed as if to judge the people around us. Not once did they look at me. I loved that they trusted me so unconditionally but felt like a horrible person for pulling the wool over their eyes.

"These two people must be brought to justice. They have broken some of the most important laws and rules of our society tonight, and my sources inform me that they would not have made it back here in time for this roll call. If someone is missing here tonight, do not expect to see them ever again." she said strongly.

She began reading out names and each person would call back to confirm their attendance.

As she got through the list of over two hundred, her face became more and more frustrated.

Eventually, she came to the realization that either the perpetrator wasn't an emerald girl, or they had somehow made it back in time.

"If the criminal is here, make no mistake: We will find you. I will not allow such a blatant disregard for rules! Now all of you get back to bed, all of you." She said sternly. In an orderly queue, we filtered out of the hall and headed back to our rooms.

No one pulled me over to integrate me as I had expected, but by getting myself locked up on house arrest earlier today and making it back in time for the search, I had given myself a good solid alibi and hopefully, they would overlook me completely, unless the Soul Reapers could recognize me somehow.

Exhaustion hit me quickly after that and I conked out for the rest of the night.

* * *

To my astonishment, no one of authority even bothered to come and check on me during the week that I was incarcerated. Considering I was generally the number one suspect for any strange activity it seemed odd that they didn't so much as spare me a glance. Apparently, they must have been absolutely certain that whatever security they had put in place to keep me in my room for the next week must be completely fool-proof.

Honestly, it felt like they had just left me there and hoped I would finally obey orders, but I was smarter than to think they would leave me completely unsupervised. They had to be observing my movements somehow, so to keep under the radar I decided to sit tight and wait out the storm, though it killed me to be locked up for so long without human interaction apart from Momo and Rukia in the mornings and evenings.

I made a point of being extremely loud with my music on most of the days just so they got the point that I wasn't going to spend my time doing homework and sleeping, though that was, unfortunately, an unavoidable portion of my day.

I longed to break out of here and go to the music club, or even just spend time with everyone. Even Renji would have been a sight for sore eyes at that desperate point, but that was partly due to me needing to know that he was okay after what had happened and that he hadn't spilt his guts to anyone.

But judging by the quiet week I assumed everything was okay. I was surprised he hadn't made an attempt to come to speak to me. Either he had enough sense to keep away in these troubling times or he really hadn't been bothered by the situation, which I found hard to believe by the fear in his eyes as we escaped through the forest.

If he didn't approach me first I would definitely have to find a quiet moment to talk to him when the opportunity arose, just for my own piece of mind. It was my fault that he got caught up in the situation after all.

On the day of my release, Kanisawa came to our apartment and whisked me away to her office. She had me sign papers to agree that I'd served my punishment and essentially that I'd learned my lesson and wouldn't take part in illegal activities anymore. I signed it just to get her off my back, but I knew full well she had no way of stopping me from sneaking out at night, and if she tried I would make her regret it.

And with that, I was finally allowed to attend classes again. The teachers all welcomed me back and Onabara decided that my new nickname was to be "Troublemaker". I didn't mind, anything was better than powderpuff or snowball really. What I did mind was all of the whispered and stares that followed me around campus everywhere I went.

I knew it was about the mini-invasion and nothing else. As it does in a campus full of gossiping teenagers, the news had travelled like wildfire, giving me an infamous reputation as someone whose name should be known.

But that did nothing to help with my new found sense of paranoia. In other circumstances, the attention may have given me a much-needed confidence boost, but I had this horrible feeling that the attention would only make me more identifiable for anyone who was on my tail. So, I vowed to keep my head down and the punishment slate clean… at least for a little while.

Renji didn't really speak to me on my first day back. He seemed unusually quiet, but I had a feeling he was bottling it all up. He kept glancing over like he wanted to say something but I waited and waited and he never spoke a word. Not even an insult, which told me something was bothering him.

The first thing I did in my theory classes was to check the textbooks for any info whatsoever about hollows. Methods of capturing them, the bounty lists, a list of their names and pictures, anything that could give me some clue about what actually went down out there. But there was nothing that even remotely resembled the monstrous dragon or the canisters of caged light that imprisoned it in any books I checked. I could only assume that we really did intrude upon something absolutely top secret, like newly developed technologies or something.

I was dying to talk to someone about it, I desperately needed to get my thoughts off my chest and finally, at the end of Zanjustu that day Renji took the only opportunity to be alone with me, though it only lasted a moment.

He appeared next to me at our usual meeting spot next to the water cooler after we finished our sparring match and leaned against the wall trying to look inconspicuous with an empty drinks cup.

"You free after school?" he asked conversationally.

I shook my head, water sploshing around in my hamster cheeks and he snorted at how stupid I looked. With a massive and painful gulp, I said: "I was planning on heading to the studio to catch up on practice sessions but I'll be back just before curfew, why?"

"Nevermind, I was just gonna talk you about that… you know… that thing we did the other night"

I stomped on his foot. "Will you think before you speak! That could have sounded so wrong if anyone was listening!"

He blushed and stuttered trying to recover and clarify, but just then the others came in from the Dojo having just finished their matches.

"Are you two arguing again? Let me guess, he shoved his cup under the tap and made you spill yours again?" Rukia asked rolling her eyes at us.

"Yeah! Again! Can you believe his audacity?! How hard can It be for a girl to get a drink around here!?" I complained giving him a look that clearly said: "Just play along."

"They say the first cup from a new bottle is the freshest" he shrugged. And they snorted doubtful laughs.

Kira patted him on the shoulder with pity. "Not sure who told you that, but I think they were pulling your leg, bro"

"Alright! So, who's my next opponent? I'm getting rusty here, I need to get back into shape!" I said trying to steer the topic away from mine and Renji's secret arrangements.

Rukia linked her arm with mine and steered me back out into the dojo. "It's my turn. Come and show me how to do that weird twirl jump thing you do before the lunch bell rings"

"You're really into that Rapier style, huh? It suits you" I smiled.

"She's getting really good at it!" Momo told me linking with my other arm as we turned away from Kira and Renji.

The boys watched us go quietly. "Feels nice to have all that bursting energy back in the group, huh? I feel revitalized. I enjoy the quiet to study time but sometimes it feels wrong when she's not around," Kira said conversationally grabbing a drink too.

Renji continued staring at my retreating back. "Yeah... never a dull moment..."

* * *

After dinner, we split from the boys who didn't bother to question us, and we went to the music club. Now that we were alone Rukia and Momo filled me in on how far they'd gotten with the "Green Project" as it was now being codenamed.

They'd come home in the week with exciting stories of things they'd learned and then gone to bed but now I would have a chance to see their progression for myself.

I hadn't expected most of the club to be eagerly awaiting my return when we entered the studio. I got swept away on a sea of excited club members who all wanted to show me their ideas and have my opinions. The writers were fighting over who's lyrics were better, while the composers all crowded around shoving scores in my face.

"Whoa, guys! I know you've missed me but please"

"Back up people, give the girl room the breath! One at a time!" Rukia instructed sounding more like my manager than Shuhei. We sat down in our usual corner and I allowed my club mates to pitch their ideas to me.

I was extremely impressed. Some of the ideas had a real flare that I could happily get behind and I gave the ones I liked the thumbs up to be worked on as future songs for the band if the first live show was a success.

Once everyone had dispersed to get on with their new jobs I spotted Shuhei hovering near the door waiting for me to notice him, but I pointedly ignored him and went to Aoga instead.

"Dude, long time no see," I said offering a fist bump that he accepted.

"Yeah. They've missed you." He said simply.

"I can see. Well, I'm gonna go listen to Momo and Rukia in the recording room"

"Kimi," Shuhei said to grab my attention as I turned to walk away.

"Hm?" I mumbled barely sparing him a glance.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well? Is that it?"

"Is what it?"

He sighed. "I should have known you wouldn't have learned your lesson."

"And what lesson would that be? To sit tight and get my ass kicked because the so-called professionals are too lazy to help? For breaking the rules by defending myself? I've made it clear that I think that's bullshit, Shuhei. End of conversation." And I walked away.

The girls shrugged and apologized on my behalf as I walked away.

Our first attempt at singing with the three of us together surprisingly sounded excellent. The girls had a lot of training to do but overall had good voices.

The song we had gone with was a pop-rock love song about getting prettied up to seduce boys on the weekend night out, which really worked with the edgy rock band theme that Shuhei was going for, even though lyrics weren't really the kind of thing any of us would actually do. As Shuhei so kindly put it, the rock genre suited us because I had the fiery temper and energy, Momo had the bouncy happy energy and Rukia had a passionate deep voice. Surprisingly, all of those contrasts mixed very well together.

After a few nights of singing scales until the moon was rising past the treetops outside of the high studio window, they were finally able to hold high and low notes reasonably well, and we've moved on my other things like harmonies.

That was were bossy pants Shuhei kept butted in, telling us which parts each character should sing and how to harmonize which lyrics, only confusing us even more and creating more work to be done to learn the changes.

Momo had the cute high pitch parts, Rukia had the deeper parts and I was just in-between, bringing it all together.

We continued like that for the rest of the week, besides the two days Momo and Rukia took out for their other clubs. In that time, I sat around practising the lead guitar part I would be playing as well as singing.

I made a point of ignoring Shuhei as much as I could, avoiding him and pretending he hadn't spoken if ever he had an input, but It didn't take long for me to forget my little grudge.

* * *

On my second night of freedom, I finally got the visit I had been hoping for. As I lay in bed with my notepad on my knees, sketching an idea for an outfit I'd imagined by lamplight, I heard a faint knock on my window. I ignored it at first thinking a bat had flown into it again. I had spent a few nights so far watching the tiny creatures zooming around eating early summer bugs.

Then it happened again, louder and more insistent. "What the hell?" I mumbled, jumping down from my bunk and pulling on some shorts to go with the tank top I'd been sleeping in. It was way too humid for PJs.

I pulled my curtain aside and found Renji standing on my balcony leaning against the rail.

My heart leapt into my chest. "What are you doing here?" I asked in surprise whisper as I pulled my sliding door open.

"I wanted to talk to you if that's okay?"

I blinked. "Took you long enough! I'll get dressed, be with you in a sec" and by getting dressed I meant pulling on an oversized jumper that acted as a dress.

I crept out of the window barefooted and left it open just an inch before jumping up to the roof with him so not to disturb the girls or neighbours.

"How are you?" I said sitting down cross-legged in the shadow of the chimney above my window.

"I'm okay, it's just… a lot has happened"

"Tell me about it. And I was stuck in there for most of it" I said nodding towards my room.

"That's why I didn't visit before now, I didn't want to get either of us into trouble. I figured it would be best to keep away from you in case anyone was watching"

"Smart boy" I grinned. "Spoken like a true sneaker!"

He smiled faintly. "I knew you'd kick my ass if I even thought about it out loud, so I stayed quiet, but It's hard to get my brain around it… I wanted to talk to you about it just to make sense of it. What do you think actually happened?"

"To me, it seems like they were hunting that hollow that had you guys hypnotized with its fishing lure, and then the giant dragon hollow swooped in for a piece of the action. We just happened to get caught up in it."

"That's what I thought too, but how the hell did something that big go unnoticed? How did we not see it before? Are there more of them out there?"

I frowned at his worried reaction. "I'm sorry Renji... It hasn't hit me so hard because I'm used to dealing with dangerous situations, but that was a lot for you to take in and you've handled it immensely well. I know it's scary to think that those things were lurking out there but try not to think about it. Were safe now"

"Thanks… I just can't believe that I nearly left you there"

"What do you mean? I told you to leave me there and save yourself, that was our agreement. The only thing you did wrong was putting yourself back in the danger by coming back for me. I am thankful, but that was reckless."

He shook his head. "No, That's the part I did right. Leaving you was wrong and selfish. I freaked out and ran for it, then realized It would be my fault if something happened to you." he hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Iv… I've had dreams of finding your body charred in the rubble back in that clearing… Every single time I run away, I come back to find you dead… I just keep reliving it."

I put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Forget about them. They're just bad dreams. It didn't happen like, I fought with the Reaper and lived thanks to you coming back and saving my ass from that tail swing. I just feel terrible for dragging you into it in the first place. The idea of a good fight doesn't scare me… but the idea of having a friend's blood on my hands is terrifying. I would never forgive myself."

"...How can you be so… brave? You brush off all the bad things like they're insignificant. That thing was the size of a volcano and spit fire like one too, and you act like it's just another day"

I shrugged. "Like I said I'm used to dangerous situations. That was your first taste of the field work and wasn't exactly the type of gentle exercise that the academy would organize as a class. There is no gentle training in the real world. Honestly, dropping you in the deep end like that will probably give you more confidence when you get to do real field work after graduation. Compared to that night anything else will seem like a walk in the park. You're prepared for the very worst now"

"You're so positive" he laughed in disbelief.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I was scared shitless but there was no room to dither and cry. The job had to be done. Every Soul Reaper has the same responsibility to man up and do their job at any cost. That's what I did."

"So, what now? Aren't you worried that they'll somehow be able to track us back?"

I didn't answer for a moment, weighing my words carefully so not to concern him. "If they were coming after us, they would have found us already. They have ways of identifying people that we could never dream of. If they needed to they would use them. I think as long as we keep out noses out of trouble were safe."

We sat there staring out over the distant forest for a moment, almost expecting to see something we shouldn't. But it was still as always. Then Renji began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I said a contagious smile forcing at the corner of my lips.

"Nothing really. It's just crazy that we did that insane stuff and lived to talk about it. I mean us, two stupid kids, who spend most of our time arguing and looking for new ways to piss each other off and we're the ones who get dragged into this mess and live."

"You sound so surprised. We made a great team!"

"Yeah we did, which is always crazy considering were meant to hate each other," He said wiping away a tear from laughing so hard.

"I don't hate you, I never have," I told him sincerely.

He looked surprised. "Oh get real, you totally did in the beginning. You were so butthurt by that first defeat-"

"Yeah, butthurt. Exactly. I had a bruised ego because I'd spent the last fifty years listening to my brother in law on how to be an honourable fighter just for some punk to win against me in the least honourable way possible. You can't blame me for being pissed"

"But you're not pissed anymore?"

I shook my head. "I'm stubborn, but I'm not stubborn enough to keep being angry at someone for the rest of my life. To be honest, you're an alright guy. You're strong, fast, funny and actually kinda friendly when you want to be. I enjoy fighting with you because you don't treat me like a delicate butterfly as most people do. I can take the hits and the insults and hurl them right back at you. No one else is as relaxed as you. They think that girls need to be looked after. I don't. I can look after myself."

He stared at me like I'd gone crazy then smiled. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself when you're not being a spoilt brat"

"Hey! I'm trying to have a nice moment here, don't go ruining it!"

He stood up and stretched. "Yeah, I don't do mushy moments. Thanks for talking to me though, I feel better now. Maybe we should sneak out again sometime when this whole thing blows over. It was fun when I forget about nearly being blown to pieces"

I grinned standing up and pulling my jumper down over my thighs as I stretched. "I'll come and call on you again sometime when I need a sneaking partner"

"Alright, Goodnight Kimi"

"Night Renji, see you tomorrow. Don't let the bad dreams bite!"

"Shut up." And he flashed away.

"Thank you for being there for me…" I whispered into the night air before carefully tip-toeing to the edge of the roof and leaping down to my balcony for an early bedtime.

* * *

The one afternoon we walked in and had a shock waiting for us and I temporarily forgot about mine and Shuhei's falling out. There he was standing with his back to the door, kneeling down as he fidgeted with something black on a mannequin.

Aoga stood off to the side with a clipboard as if ready to make notes and a few other club members milled around looking expectant.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked merrily, holding the door open for the girls to enter behind me. Then I saw the mannequins. "No way, is that what I think it is?!"

Shuhei turned to greet us with a wide grin on his face.

"Certainly is, the Fashion club really pulled through- careful though, there are still a few pins in them"

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god" Momo squeaked jumping up and down. He removed them from the mannequin carefully, piece by piece one at a time and handed them to us.

"They're prototypes to try on for measurements" Aoga explained simply.

A tear came to my eye.

That dress that I had dreamed of on the first night of this project... The fashion club had taken mine and Shuhei's crappy little doodles and made them better than my imagination could ever conjure, for Momo that is.

It was clear who's outfit was who's by the mild difference in theme.

Momos dress was the frilly black dream tutu, but with green and black tartan accents, chains, studs, leather gloves, a lacey choker with a green gemstone and a green tartan tank top underneath a leather waistcoat.

Rukia's was exactly the same colours and materials but more like a short-sleeved skater dress with a tight leather and green tartan belt around the middle and the same black flat heeled, buckled ankle boots.

Mine was a vision of the punky, badass, edgy rock chick style I was going for, doing away with the skirts completely in favour of shorts as I had requested in a number of my doodles. At least now I wouldn't be uncomfortable and bouncing around on stage.

Chains and studded belts hung from the pockets of the tartan-patched shorts to wrap around my butt and legs above fishnet stockings and biker boots.

Instead of a vest, I had a cropped belly top with short sleeves and a neckline that stopped just below the lacey choker.

My gloves were leather with black gems embedded on the back and tight arm bands wrapped around both upper arms.

I literally melted and jumped on Shuhei in a huge hug. "YOU MADE IT HAPPEN THANK YOU SO MUCH THEY'RE AMAZING!" I squeaked tightening my death grip around his waist.

"Hey no problem, Troublemaker. I'm only doing my job, but the fashion deserves all the credit really" Shuhei wheezed patting me on the head. "Now go try them on, we need to note any adjustments that need to be made, then you can start moving on to the full band and costume rehearsals"

Still hugging each other and bouncing like hyperactive toddlers, the three of us picked up moved to one of the private rooms to change.

The only real problem was that the shorts were a little tight for my athletic legs. But otherwise, there were only minor tweaks that needed to be made.

* * *

We finally had the lyrics and individual vocal parts nailed before moving onto choreography with private lessons from the dance club leader. It took us a couple of weeks to get the moves right, seeing as we had a whole three-minute sequence to learn and the girls had harder parts than me.

I only really had to stand at the front and join in with some of the moves on certain queues while playing the guitar, whereas they had to coordinate and keep constantly moving which they currently didn't have the stamina for. They were out of breath before the end of the first verse on most runs.

I mentioned this problem to Shuhei and, reliable as ever, he pulled through and procured gym passes for them so they could join me in the stamina improvement machines. I just had to find a way to stop Renji from knowing I was going to the gym so he wouldn't find the girls there and start asking awkward questions.

After the first two weeks were up Rukia and Momo decided that they preferred the music club to their other clubs and decided to drop one each. Thankfully Rukia chose to quit Arts & Crafts. We all knew that no amount of practice would make her a good artist, the only problem was that all of the doodles of outfits designs she was putting together were permanently stuck in stick-bunny mode and I doubted that would ever change.

Momo's decision caused us all a great deal of pain and regret, however. Instead of choosing to drop the stupid ASS club, where all she did all day was talk about Aizen and look at the photo's his stalkers had taken of him, she ditched damn the cooking club! This meant no more wonderful homemade treats to look forward to while we studied and practised in the nights. Even the club members seemed mournful when she told them she wouldn't be bringing leftover cookies to the studio anymore.

She did promise that she would try to make stuff on the weekend of she could get ingredients from town, so I settled for second best.

Somehow, we managed to keep the secret from the guys without much effort. As far as they were concerned we just coincidentally had club meetings at the same time in the same days, or we were all splitting off to take on extra lessons, or the girls were coming to the club to watch dress rehearsals. They never suspected a thing that to me it must seem clear that something was going on.

Until we nearly had a heart attack when Kira walked through the door with Aoga and Shuhei, who were carrying black clothing bags over their shoulders, while the three of us were standing on stage preparing for another practice session one evening.

We all squealed in shock and rushed to hide, tripping up over each other in our extremely conspicuous and not at all stealthy haste to get out of sigh, causing Kira and Shuhei to laugh loudly.

"It's alright, I'm in on the secret," Kira told us as we recovered from our frantic scramble.

"You're what?!" We demanded angrily.

"Shuhei! You told us not to tell anyone!" I complained.

"Relax, squirts. I told you not to go telling any outsiders, but Izuru here happens to be a member of the Newspaper club who has kindly agreed to help us out"

"Meet your new promo manager," Aoga grunted.

"In other words, I'm your photographer and I'll be writing articles about the band in the school paper to promote you" Kira smiled kindly.

"Are you for real!? You knew about this and never told us?!" Momo said running up and beating on his chest with her fist softly. " Do you know how much trouble we went through to keep this secret from you?!"

"Sorry, but I didn't know if I was supposed to tell you anything either."

"What about Renji?" I asked the thought occurring to me. "Is he in on it too then?"

Kira snorted. "Of course not. If you're looking for a way to spread a secret, go tell big mouth Renji. No one in their right mind would trust him to keep his trap shut"

We all nodded in agreement.

"So, he's the only one who is still clueless" Rukia realized. "He's going to be so mad..."

"We have to keep up the charade as long as possible. I can't wait to see his reaction when he finally finds out" I snickered slyly.

"If he ever finds out-" Shuhei corrected hovering near the door with Aoga. "The longer you guys can keep the act going, the better"

"Given that the band is even successful in the first place of course" I pointed out.

"Of course it will be. I created it" he said proudly.

We rolled our eyes. "There he goes again, preening like a peacock" I groaned.

"Nah. I'll be preening when the first show is a success, but until then I'm just gonna stay positive"

"There's a lot of preparation left to do." Aoga chipped in again.

"That's why I'm here today. You have your outfits now" Kira said nodding towards the clothing bags that Aoga and Shuhei had placed flat on the sofas our usual corner, "So we need to make a start on promoting the band ahead of the first live. No one will turn up if they've never heard of you, but a few well-placed posters around camp should produce some hype "

We glanced at each other and grinned. "This is gonna be fun!"

It turned out that wigs were super annoying but after a little of adjustments we finally finished off getting into costume and Shuhei came in with our contact lenses.

If I hadn't seen the conceptual designs for Rukia and Momo's stage characters on paper I would never have recognised them.

Rukia now had long and straight mahogany hair with a severely straight fringe and shining viridian green eyes, and Momo was a bright platinum blonde with high pigtails on the sides of her head held up by green ribbons and light olive contacts.

"Whoa- Look at you guys!" I laughed, lost for words at their transformation.

"Whoa- Look at yourself!" Momo squeaked pointing to the mirror over my shoulder.

I turned to look at myself and found straight but choppy copper brown locks similar to my real black ones in straightness, only that my real hair was naturally messy rather than intentionally cut unevenly, and this wig was far shorter reaching just below my shoulders rather than the small of my back. My contact lenses were a piercing emerald the exact same shade as my guitar and reminded me vividly of my Sister. If my hair was still black could have finally passed as a real Murasaki.

"This is incredible-!" I managed, twirling left and right to get a better look at Jade in her edgy punk rock chick leather outfit.

"I know, right? The fashion club wasn't very happy about not having models to size the garments on, I didn't think it wise to give the fashion students chance to see you three and start talking to their external friends so I made them agree to work on measurements alone, but despite that they really outdid themselves"

"I feel like an evil fairy~" Momo cooed dreamily bouncing up about down to make her frilly black tutu bounce.

"Such exceptional quality... No one will ever guess who we are!" Rukia said in awe examining her elbow length gloves.

"You look fantastic. Oh, one more thing-" Shuhei said reaching into his pockets and pulling out three black masquerade style masks, black and lacey with black stones around the edges, tied on with clear ribbon around the backs of our heads.

"I think I'm in love" I gasped trying to mine on and taking another look in the mirror.

"If that does produce hype over your mysterious identities, nothing will" Kira smiled. "Now it's time to take some snaps of you three for your first promo poster" and he unexpectedly took a picture causing the bright flash to startle and momentarily blind us.

"Whoa, a little warning if you don't mind!"

"The best pictures come from unexpected moments" Aoga grunted wisely and we all raised an eyebrow in his direction. It was always so strange when Aoga spoke. He was like a gargoyle bodyguard whos the main purpose was to look intimidating.

"Riiiight... So, what's the plan?"

Shuhei suddenly whipped three full length black hooded raincoats out of thin air and handed them to us.

"It should be going dark about now, but you need to cover up anyway. We don't need you attracting attention"

"Because being covered from head to toe in black doesn't attract attention when being escorted across campus in wide open spaces. Can't, we go on the roof or something?" I asked rolling my eyes.

Shuhei gave me a strange look as if a thought had just occurred to him but he didn't say anything.

"It'll be fine."

* * *

Little bit more fluff in the next one, then on to the finale of the academy arc, stick around for more! Feel free to leave a review, let me know what you think! I'm open to questions and ideas as always~

 _3rdseatofsquad2_

Loool I had a feeling you might have missed that little detail with Shuhei :P

You and I seem to be on the same page with these ideas, are you in my head? lol

Yeah, I do plan to put some romance in here (or at least tomorrow potentials flames) but I've never wrote any romance so I'll probably be very subtle with no Lemons. My boyfriend will eventually read this when he catches up so that would feel super weird to put dirty stuff in here lol.

I've got the couple's planned out, there's already one relationship currently blooming that's probably not obvious yet, and the whole basis of the Hueco Mundo arc revolves around that relationship.

I'm with you on the Rukia X Ichigo which is one of the reasons I made Rukia and Renji more like unofficial siblings. They make no sense to me. Yes they had their past together, but there was no sign of affection as such in the main story, maybe in the flashbacks but not in the main parts.

Personally I think that Yuzu and Karin were sooooo such wasted potential and now I have a basis for developing them in Misaki being alive, and if I have Dark Raven Day's blessing, I may show some development from the rescue arc onwards, but he had plans for them in his sequel/sister story so I'm not sure where I'll stand by the time I get to that arc, unless he STILL hasn't published anything by that point lol

But yeah that's the plan- I think with Yuzu having such a sweet innocent personality being a Quincy with the pure white and light arrow themes would suit her more.


	38. Murasaki Hospitality

**Chapter 38 - Murasaki Hospitality**

"Rise and shine ladies! Time for us to go on a little adventure~" I sang yanking open both of their bedroom doors simultaneously and receiving predictable groans of disappointment.  
"Five more minutes... I beg of you" Momo moaned pulling a pillow over her head.  
Rukia rolled over and squinted at her clock with one eye. "Can't the adventure wait until a reasonable hour? It's Saturday morning for Soul kings sake..."  
"Not if we want to have enough time to do everything I have planned. Come on, shake a leg!" I ordered clapping loudly and tugging their curtains open.  
"Yes, Mom..." Momo yawned before rolling over with no more effort to be seen.  
"I'll be getting ready, I've got the carriage booked to be here in little over an hour,"  
"You've been out already? What is wrong with you? Just be lazy on a weekend like a normal kid" Rukia complained.  
"Being lazy doesn't keep me in tip-top shape, does it? I can't be on the running team if I waddle like a penguin."  
That amusing image was enough to get a reaction out of them and have them moving.  
"I think I'm going to wear my uniform," I told them from my open door as they slowly organised themselves.  
"Why? It's your day off..."  
"I dunno, it was just such a big deal when I got into the academy, I kinda want my people to see how far I've come," I said feeling a little bit embarrassed.  
"Aw, that's kinda sweet.." Rukia sighed. "Should we do it too?"  
"If you like, but you'll get a lot of attention for it.."  
"Better than walking alongside you awkwardly looking like normal villagers" she shrugged.  
"Go ahead. That's that sort of thing that will boost morale where I come from, they'll appreciate it" I smiled fondly as I rested Ruby against my door before changing.  
"You're taking your sword too?" Momo asked uncertainly catching me carrying it out the corner of her eye. "Are you expecting a fight or something?"  
"Yeah, I have a feeling I'm gonna get challenged by a certain 'friend' of mine" I smirked. "It'll be fun to wipe the floor with him for old times sake"  
"You scare me sometimes..." Momo shuddered.  
"Glad I'm not on the wrong end of your violent side" Rukia laughed squeamishly.

By the time the carriage arrived, we were already waiting out in the academy's front courtyard with a bag of essentials to cover us for the night.  
"What about Shuhei and the guys?" Rukia asked, climbing up into the carriage with a glance over her shoulder as if she expected someone to stop us.  
"Don't worry, I tweaked my running route to cover them. I left notes for them to explain that we will be back sometime tomorrow. And yes, the school did authorize the trip, they know where we are going"  
"Prepared as always" Momo smiled. "Iv never been into the second District before, is it nice?"  
"On a day like this, it's especially pretty," I said shielding my eyes from the blinding summer sun as we set off down the road.  
"I've never been in a carriage before... I feel... special" Rukia mumbled staring around in awe at its immaculate finish.  
"We are special. My father told me that I'm that I'll be the first Soul Reaper in my village in over a hundred years, that's why it's such a big deal there especially with me being the Head Family's daughter. You wait until we arrive"  
I was right to expect it of course. Real noble family transport was much fancier and would rarely be seen in these parts, but carriages like these with roves and comfy seats were generally only used by wealthy individuals, and as we rode through Harumachi town after the short passage through the first District we attracted a lot of attention from villagers.

I waved and smiled through the thin window as the carriage caught the attention of the villagers. Once they looked through the window and recognised me I had people waving, calling out greets and even some of the kids skipping alongside us as the horses cantered to a trot in the busy street.  
My heart soared at the familiar sights and the wonderful memories and I couldn't help but beam down at my people waving back proudly. In no time the high-street faded into a quiet dirt road lined with forest we were pulling up in front of the vast traditional Japanese style Murasaki Manor with its perfectly manicured courtyard and polished dark wood buildings.  
I stood there staring up proudly up at it front the courtyard entrance. "Welcome to my home!"  
Both of my friends were blown away, never having been to somewhere quite so exquisite.  
"Wow, this is where you grew up?" Rukia asked staring around.  
"Yep. I woke up in the woods near the orchards one day and they took me in. I was here for almost fifty years before coming to the academy" I explained as we ascended the steps to the front door.

I knocked with a distinctive rhythm that I used to use if ever I was locked out of the house so they would know it was me.  
After a minute the double doors clicked open and my Sister's emerald eyes peered out curiously, her hair cut into a perfect black bob and straight fringe, wearing a pretty pale green kimono. It took a moment for her to comprehend my face.  
"Surprise~" I sang with a grin and her mouth went wide with shock.  
"SIS?! What are you doing here?!" She said pulling the door open wide and diving on me in a great big hug that almost suffocated my face with her bosom.  
"Sorry I didn't warn you, this was a last minute decision-" I choked trying to push away from her for air but she only pulled me closer into a back breaking hug.  
"I'm so happy to see you! You have no idea how quiet it's been without you. Oh, do come in we have so much to catch up on! Welcome ladies, come in!" And said all in one breath before literally dragging me into the house by the wrist.  
Momo and Rukia watched me being dragged away with their mouths slightly ajar and eyebrows raised.  
"Should we run or rescue her?" Rukia joked when we had disappeared into the lounge.  
"Yuu, this is Momo and Rukia. They're the room-mates I told you about in my letters. Girls, this is Yuuga, my crazy big sister" I introduced when they found their way inside after closing the door.  
Yuu scoffed. "I'm only crazy because of your a bad influence"  
"Pleased to meet you!" Momo said with a little curtsy as if she were greeting royalty.  
"We've heard a lot about you Lady Yuuga" Rukia smiled shyly.  
"Oh stop!" Yuu said waving away the formalities. "Just call me Yuu, I don't mind. Would you like any drinks or breakfast? I can have something prepared for you- no doubt my sister has skipped the most important meal of the day as usual," she said with an accusatory sideways glare and I winced.  
My friends chuckled, skipping breakfast had been one of the many habits that they had been trying to train out of me.  
"I had to, they don't serve breakfast this early at school and I wanted to get here fast-!"  
"Always an excuse. Very well, I'll go and alert the kitchen staff" and she bustled away returning a few minutes later with a pitcher of fresh iced orange juice.

Just then the front door opened again and a male voice called out "I'm home- Anyone here?"  
As Hatsu walked past the reception lounge he glanced in then doubled back when his brain registered my presence. He goggled at me in surprise.  
"What are you doing here?!"  
"Oh nice to see you too, Bro" I grinned and to my surprise and came in and gave guy-hugged me which was very unlike him. I wondered how much he had missed having someone to train with every morning. "Long time no see, Soul Reaper"  
"In training." I corrected him. "Girls, this is Hatsu, my Sister's boyfriend and my teacher. He trained me up for the academy. Have you been taking care of her like you promised when I left?"  
He placed his hand over his heart and stood stick straight. "With my life. Not like you would have much trouble hunting me down if I didn't."  
Yuu cleared her throat and I turned to see her holding her hand out, wiggling her fingers with a small but pretty silver ring on the finger next to her left pinky. "Fiancée, not boyfriend."  
The girls have a little gasp of awe and I stared at it for a moment. "Wait, what?! You two finally got engaged!? You didn't mention anything in your letters!"  
"We wanted to keep it a surprise until we next saw you" Yuu winked.  
"No way! Congratulations!" I said hugging her. "It's about time, you've only been an item for the last hundred and something years"  
She pouted and swatted me away. "There you go giving away my age again!"  
"We decided to finally make it official instead of putting it off any longer," Hatsu explained, perching himself on the arm of the chair beside me.  
"But enough about us, tell me everything! How have you been? What are your classes like?" Yuu demanded sitting right on the edge of her seat.

We spent the next two hours relaxing with a slap-up breakfast of cooked meats, sweet bread and fruits as we described all of the things we got up to.  
We explained each of the classes and some of our activities and Rukia and Momo took great joy in pointing out all of my clumsy accidents, like getting covered in flour and glitter after missing almost every ball in our hollow-hitting classes and having a habit of tripping up over my own feet in Hakuda in the beginning. Somehow without communicating it to the girls, we managed to omit all of the bad things that had happened so not to worry my family, like almost having my hand sliced off or getting invaded by ravenously hungry monsters, and also the main elephant in the room- The presence of Renji in our little group.  
Until I took the time to explain my life in detail, I never realised just how much my supposed sworn enemy was now a part of it. I was hard to just erase him from every busy now that I thought about it, he was always with me; But the image of Hatsu's anger at the exams swam in my mind and I knew it best to just try and pretend he didn't exist. I had no doubt Hatsu still held his grudge after all this time and would have a few choice words for me about the company I keep if he found out how close we were. But I wasn't quick enough to stop Rukia from letting the midnight alarm wake up call slip.

"We were sleeping and all of a sudden the alarms went off and we all had to go downstairs for roll call"  
She wasn't paying attention to "shut the hell up" glare I was giving her from the other side of the sofa.  
"Roll call? At that time of night? That is unusual, what happened?" Yuu asked sounding concerned.  
I quickly interjected brushing it away as If it wasn't worth talking about. "Nothing, they suspected that someone broke curfew but no one was ever caught so they dropped it."  
Yuu narrowed her eyes and a sly smile poked at the corners of her mouth as Momo plundered on about how scary it was and how they were worried for the next few days.  
"Nothing like that ever happened again though so it's been peaceful since then. Did I mention that we joined the music club by the way?" I said in another effort to change the subject.  
She still had the suspiciously knowing glint in her eyes and I avoided contact with them. "Is that why you asked for your instruments? I'm glad you took up a good _HONEST_ hobby" she said with a little too much emphasis on the word honest.  
Damn it, Sis I thought. She knew me far too well.  
"Yeah! We're now in a top-secret school project with our own live concert coming up soon!" Momo said excitedly. "But the stress was getting to us so Kimi suggested that we should come out and get some fresh air"  
" _Top secret_ , eh?" My sister asked wiggling her eyebrows at me and I rolled my eyes. She was catching on. "It must be nice to _ESCAPE_ from that stressful situation,"  
I gritted my teeth, trying to stop myself from digging a deeper hole. "Yeah I told them, we're here totally legally," I said pointedly closing the conversation. "How about we get out of the house and go for a walk" I suggested.  
"Why not. I'll go and change into more suitable clothes" and she disappeared for a little while. Hatsu follows leaving us alone.  
The girls thankfully hadn't noticed what my sister had been insinuating and we quickly shovelled the last bits of food into our mouths and pockets.

"Where do you suggest we go?" Yuu asked now dressed in a yukata like the ones I always used to wear. Much easier to run around in.  
"Shopping!" Rukia and Momo cheered.  
"Before that, can we take the scenic route? We can shop after and bring our purchases back home"  
"Why not, it's been a while since we went out of the town" Yuu agreed and the girls kinda stood around looking a bit lost as we made arrangements around them. As Rukia and Momo skipped through the hall towards the front door Yuu pulled me back into the lounge.  
"Look, I know you can't help yourself but please don't get caught" she grimaced in a hushed but urgent whisper.  
"What makes you think it was me?"  
"Because they didn't catch anyone." she dead-panned. "Have you forgotten all of those years I covered for your absences? I have seen you move through the shadows like a ghost, I'm not an idiot Sis, but I'm also not going to stand here and lecture you about being a bad girl, you're not a child any more. I know you're strong and fast, but please be smart too. I don't want to have to bail you out of jail for trespassing or something"

"Just promise me you won't tell them about it, okay?" I said nodding my head backward in the direction of the door to indicate my friends.

"Ohh. You don't trust them?"

I didn't answer for a moment. "Not in this situation. Theyre very... by the book. I don't think they would take it will if they found out I break the law for fun every few days."Yuu gave me a deeply concerned look that bore into my soul. "Look, Iv never been caught before and I never intended to let it happen. I'll be fine, please don't worry." I said squeezing arm reassuringly, "Remember, I'm actually being trained on how to not get caught now. I'm not just winging it any more."

It wasnt exactly a lie. I wasnt taking classes but I did have access to books to teach me and just the stealth missions alone were enough training in a live and learn sort of way. And with that, I walked out to catch up to my friends before she could argue back.  
I didn't bother to explain why I was sneaking out. She would probably lock me in my room and refuse to let me go back to school if she knew the extent of danger I had put myself in.

We decided to head on the same route that Yuu once took to show me around when I was a newborn soul: First to the meadows, then the shrine, then the river, then the orchard and back into town.  
On the way, we walked at an easy pace enjoying the glorious summer sun and each others company.  
"So Sis, how's your love life going?" Yuu asked casually and I nearly coughed up a lung in surprise. Momo and Rukia snorted out laughs at the ridiculous topic.  
"Kimi- Love life? She wouldn't know love if it slapped her in the face..." Rukia mumbled.  
I blew an indignant raspberry at Rukia. "Like you'd know any better! What the hell kind of question is that anyway?! You can't just go around asking that kind of thing-"  
"Why not? It's a reasonable question. You've been there for four months now and you still don't have a boyfriend? Get on with it before they're all taken!"  
"Honestly, hollows are more common than good looking guys around there, and besides you always warned me not to go looking for trouble... And boys are the root of all trouble"  
"Ain't that the truth" Momo sighed.  
"Well, perhaps you should be looking. What about those two boys you mentioned in your group?"  
I made a gagging noise and Rukia snorted. "My brother is a goof ball, he'll never get a girlfriend in a million years"  
"And Kira is a nice guy, but I can't imagine him as anything other than a good friend" Momo decided.  
"Actually, there is one guy she kiiiiinda likes" Rukia teased, wiggling her eyebrows and nudging me in the side with her elbow.  
"Oohhh, do tell!" Yuu gushed latching onto the gossip.  
"His name is Shuhei-"  
"STOP. I do not have a crush on Shuhei. Just because every other girl does-"  
"You really do, you're always near him-"  
"SO ARE YOU. We work with him every day!"  
"But you're his favourite" Momo winked jumping on the bandwagon.  
I couldn't stop a red blush creeping onto my cheeks. "Oh my god. There's no reasoning with you, is there?"  
"Oh lighten up Sis, they're only playing with you. You've never been boy crazy but it wouldn't hurt for you to think about settling down, I'd like a niece or a nephew at some point"  
"Not happening" I drawled unimpressed. "Where I'm going there's only time for work and training, no mushy stuff"  
"Suit yourself, but next time you visit home I expect you to have a young man in toe."  
"Oh stop, that is not gonna happen! I'm there to learn how to destroy soul hungry monsters, not hunt down potential boyfriends! If I ever find one I'll let you know but don't go making expectation for me!"

We made it to the meadow of a thousand blooms as I had learned it was called many years after my first trip there, a fitting name but there were far more than a thousand flowers on these vast, rolling hills.  
In the distance stood the giant tree that I had used for my jumping training for so many years.  
I showed the girls how I had trained and we messed around for a little while, seeing who could get up the tree the fastest.  
It felt awesome to have someone else to share the fun with. For so long I had only had Yuu and Hatsu as spectators, but now I felt like a little kid who had found friends with spirit energy to play with.  
"I wish I could join you" Yuu sighed forlornly as we landed skilfully on both feet after jumping down from the soaring top branches.  
"If I had a way to give you energy Sis, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I hate seeing you left out"  
"It's okay. It's interesting to watch but I'd just like to feel the air on my face and I run really fast, just once"  
"That's exactly what I felt like when I first started, then I got hooked on the adrenaline and became a runner"  
"It's a nice feeling, but running just tires me out after a while" Momo sighed flopping down next to Yuu for a sip of juice.  
"Kimi is just an adrenaline junky. She's always gotta be doing something fast or dangerous"  
"You make me sound like a thug!"  
"If you were the whole school would be scared of you, but you're actually quite respected after..." Rukia paused to rethink her words, she was no doubt about to mention my famous fight against the hollow horde that had made every student know my name.  
"All of your efforts in events and stuff..."  
"That's my Sis, always so hands-on"  
We glanced at each other and smirked.  
We lay there chatting away and soaking up the sun. It was such a welcome change after all of the stress and busyness of school. We rarely ever had to just stop and take a deep breath like this, always being cooped up in classrooms or that stuffy studio with noise and motion all around us.

After an hour in the meadow, we moved to the shrine down the long, shadowy stone mountain staircase into the valley below.  
The atmosphere clearly changed in the approach, not helped by the disappearance of the sun behind the mountains and billowing trees above us.  
I slowed down, hesitating with uneasy.  
"Don't you two feel that?"  
They didn't reply instead matching my cautious pace and staring around as if trying to make sense of the sensation washing over us.  
"Yeah... It's like we're being watched?" Rukia finally decided.  
"Oh, not this again!" Yuu huffed. "I've told you a million times, Sis. There's nothing wrong with the shrine! It's a place of prayer, wishes, safety... There's no way something evil would be here"  
"I'm not so sure of that..." Momo said wandering right up to the red arch gate that marked the entrance to the sacred land.  
"Every time I have passed that threshold..." I started but I couldn't find the words to explain the distressing sensation. "I don't know... Just see for yourself" I said gesturing for them to go ahead of me.  
Yuu stood by with the arms folded, eyebrows raised and foot tapping impatiently as the three of us took one big uneasy step over the marked entrance line.  
Immediately we all recoiled. It felt like the air itself was distorting, invisible blasts of pressure and noise were bearing down on us like a ten ton led weight on our shoulders. My chest felt tight and my head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice. It was stronger than I had ever experienced it and I wondered if my body was more in tune with the energy now that I was training and honing my own powers.  
"You feel that too?!" I asked the girls, reaching for the fence beside me to stabilise myself.

"Yeah, without a doubt that is a really strong spiritual pressure!" Rukia deduced moving towards the railing that separated the footpath from the lake's edge.  
"This feels stronger than a captain!" Momo croaked.  
"Whatever we feel from the captain's when they visit is just residue that they're not fully holding back. Remember they have to conceal their spiritual pressure around weaker souls so not to do this to everyone" I reminded her.  
"Then perhaps this is what a captain#s presence feels like when they exert their energy" "It's a good theory but I don't see any captains around here" I pointed out. Rukia poked towards the lake, plugging one ear with her other finger to hold off the bombardment of distorted noise. "No, but I see a shrine that's supposed to house a God according to legend"  
"Oh give me a break you guys. There's nothing there! It's just a myth to keep people spirits high." Yuu tried to reason but we wouldn't listen.  
To her it probably looked like we were being dramatic seeing as she didn't have any spiritual energy and couldn't feel the waves rolling over us like a storm out at sea making landfall. She had never believed me and probably never would.  
"Look, if you're so worried then go and give an offering. If there is a God in there they're probably annoyed that you haven't visited them for months" she joked, but I wasn't laughing.  
"She's right. Maybe it will subside with an offering"  
We headed along the path holding on to each other until we reached the red bridge that crossed the lake. Yuu walked slowly behind us casually enjoying the scenery while we braced ourselves for more waves of pressure the closer we got.  
When we reached the shrine Island there was no mistaking where the energy was coming from. We wasted no time in each ringing the bell to draw the god's attention, although it seemed we had already been noticed, clapping our hands in prayer and making a wish before dropping a few of my coins into the box on the podium.  
Momo and I did it first so that Rukia knew what to do. Within moments of the coins clattering to a halt at the bottom of the box, the tension in the atmosphere eased somewhat. The pressure in my head bled away like someone had popped a balloon with a needle and squeezed the air out.  
I straightened up feeling like a literal weight had been lifted off my shoulders."It worked?!"  
"That must be one angry God..." Rukia shuddered, stretching to get rid of the heavy feeling on her body.  
"Wait, I was only joking-" Yuu started looking just a little concerned. "You mean there is actually a God here?"  
I shook my head. "Maybe not a God, but there is a powerful and sentient energy sealed here, whatever it is"  
"You definitely weren't imagining it, that's for sure. Can we leave now? I don't like it here" Momo requested and we left hastily leaving Yuu in our wake looking confused, so confused that she even forgot to pull her usual trick of trying to get me to spill the beans on what I wished for to bring the wish.

On the way to the river just downstream where I first came into contact with Soul Reapers, but the shrine was all my sister could talk about. She wanted to know everything. Details of what we felt, how it affected our bodies but no one else's, what could possibly have caused it if not a god, then she wanted to know the details of how Soul Reapers work in the sense of trying to figure out how a complex machine was built.  
It was hard for us to put it in simple enough terms for her but we tried our best while relaxing next to the river basin where the lotus flowers bobbed around the edges of the water and the waterfall crashed down beside us.  
I told them the story of how I found out about Soul Reapers and the reason it was weird for me to feel hunger.  
Yuu seemed quite sad at this. It had been the time that she had gained a friend- or rather a sibling- and then discovered that she could potentially lose me all in one day.  
I did remind her that I took more than fifty years for me to move on and she hadn't entirely lost me but she was still sulking.  
To lighten the Momo and Rukia suggested we try to jump down from the waterfall as the Soul Reapers did all those years ago. It was easy of course, we were used to high falls by now especially after Hoho classes but we just wanted to change the soar subject.  
It didn't take long for the girls to start messing around, even getting my sister involved so she could feel the same adrenaline rushes we did, holding onto her tightly as they jumped over the falls and threw each other into the water.  
We even put a bit of training into our fun, trying to use our energy stand on the turbulent surface, which Coach had declared would be a skill we would learn during the second year. We figured we might as well make a start at a time like this and it was fun to give Yuu a demonstration of the sort of things we learn while getting soaked.

We later headed back into town, walking in the midday sun to dry off from our swim and spent the rest of the evening shopping and sampling local cuisine while being accosted by villagers every few feet. It took a lot longer than usual to get around every store while I had old friends and acquaintances pulling me aside so they could try and get some gossip and be introduced to my friends.  
But eventually, we came home with a few bags worth of goodies each. Food was, of course, my number one priority as always. I stocked up on all of my favourites with enough to keep me going for a few weeks if I didn't eat it all in one night. I also brought the girls a Kimono each. I decided to go for a winter-worthy set seeing as we were most likely to wear them during the graduation party at the end of the year, if at all.  
I already had tons of them at my disposal thanks to granny so I would pick one when I got back home and bring it to the academy to await special occasions.  
Momo looked great in a long red kimono with gold patterns of smoke and flowers billowing up from the bottom and the long sleeves and a scarf of white fur around her neck.  
Rukia settled for a midnight blue one with similar patterns but in silver and a shorter, white lining of fur around her neck. They would both look gorgeous one they were dressed up properly. They tried to refuse my gifts at first then decided it wasn't worth the argument when Yuu got involved and promised to not give them dinner if they didn't accept.

Dinner was delicious as always. My parents had arrived back home after while we were out and found out from Hatsu that I had come to visit. In true Murasaki fashion, they went all out of the catering.  
We arrived back home to an all you can eat feast and my embarrassing parents fighting over who would get to strangle-hug me first before I even walked in the door.  
We ended up telling stories of school for the millionth time that day. My grandmother was actually genuinely interested and very pleased to hear that I had gotten into the music club and been chosen to take a lead role in a production. By the time we had explained our roles, she was already making a list of things she wanted to gift to us to help with our club.  
Once the alcohol started flowing there was no way we could get out of not showing them our routine. So we decided to put on a little show for them though it felt a little awkward as my main props, my guitar and tall microphone stand, were absent. Then granny made me do an old dance she had taught me many years ago, and another one and another one. I'd never seen her so merry and enthusiastic in my life.  
Once they were all full and basically falling asleep in their chairs from food comas and drunkenness we slipped out of the room, ready to head to my room for an early night.

On the way to my room where Yoshino had had the maids set up two extra futons, Hatsu left the building behind us and called me back.  
"I can see where you got your style from now," Rukia was saying after my little traditional dance demonstration, "The way you moved that fan was kind of similar to how you hold your sword, you were all like SWISH and SLASH and SWOOP" she said dramatically imitating me.  
Momo giggled. "It's very impressive, maybe we should take lessons from your Grandma"  
"Kimi-" came a call behind me.  
I was just about to explain my grandmother's past as a Geisha in old Japan and how she had trained me to think of dancing like sword fighting, but I stopped and turned to him.  
"What's up?" I blinked, surprised.  
"You know what I'm going to ask, right?"  
I groaned. "Uuggh why did you wait until after dinner?! Were you trying to make me fat and slow? I'll warn you now: That's the only advantage you'll have over me now"  
The girls looked between us in confusion, then it clicked in their eyes and they understood that this was a challenge.  
"So you say. You can talk about how much you've learned so much as you like, but I want to see your progress for myself"  
"Dude, I may slack and not pay attention in history class, but you know better than anyone that I thrive in combat situations," said with a raised eyebrow, kind of and annoyed that he would even doubt me in such a matter.  
He shrugged "Fair point, but maybe I just want a good fight seeing as I don't have a sparring partner any more"  
My heart did I backflip and I really felt bad about leaving him alone, especially when he really deserved to be at the academy with me just as much as anyone who had spirit energy.  
"Fine, but only one fight. I don't want to get carried away and hurt you. I've kind of outgrown this courtyard"  
Momo and Rukia glanced at each other and I knew they were picturing Renji and I going for each other's throats in our full-on all-or-nothing fights that literally took up the entirety of the Zanjutsu practise hall and often pushed our classmates to the edges in a bid for safety.  
I grabbed Ruby from my bedroom and descended the steps to my private courtyard to face off for the first time in what felt like forever. Hatsu had this cocky smile plastered across his face that screamed overconfidence. He actually thought we were evenly matched now? I'd have to prove otherwise.  
"Nice sword" he complimented eyeing it up.  
I twirled it around, loosening up my wrists and did a few stretches as before every match. "Standard school issue. It'll be my Zanpakuto one day when it essentially fuses with my soul. You sure you wanna do this? Remember I've been studying how to get strong almost every day for like 4 months, and it's not basic backyard training either. I'm not a pushover any more"  
"I'll make that decision for myself, thanks."  
"Have it you're way then-" I said launching off from the ground in a burst of speed that he hadn't been expecting and making the bits of dust and leaves on the stones fly up behind me. "I won't go easy on you if that's what you're expecting!"  
He was quick enough to raise his sword and block the hit clumsily, but he was barely able to stand his ground from the momentum and force behind the collision.  
I backed off for just a moment to give him space to recover, then flew in with more slashes, turning, ducking and weaving into different positions to hit from unexpected angles. He clumsily parried them but had no time to retaliate.  
"What's up? Am I too fast for you? This is my new pace so try to keep up" and I went at it again, pushing him harder and harder until he was almost backed into the stone wall enclosing the yard. He ducked and my sword took a chunk out of the wall.  
"She looks so fast now, but back school this is normal" Momo casually told Rukia loud enough for us to hear as they sat on the raised wooden path outside of my room scooping away at bowls of Ice cream.  
"You just didn't realise it until now because we're in a smaller space. She's been spending way too much time with my brother though, I swear she's absorbing his fighting style" Rukia laughed.  
I cringed at the thought of subconsciously mimicking Renji, whose style I had always considered to be clumsy and frantic and Hatsu managed to land a very near hit that I had to back away from in my moment of distraction.  
"I thought you and that guy weren't friends?" he said accusingly.  
"Were not, were just sparring partners because he's the only one who fights as rough as I do. Everyone else is too slow or too inexperienced- love you girls, no offence!" I called as an afterthought so they knew I wasn't insulting them.  
They laughed a blew kisses back to me. "None taken!"  
"Well, in that case, I hope you usually wipe the floor with him. Don't let him catch you out- like this!" And he moved really fast to my side. I hadn't been expecting it and I was surprised to see him move so quickly. I blocked it easily with a graceful twirl that caused the blades to chime loudly together but it just caught me off guard none the less.  
"So I'm not the only one with new tricks up my sleeve?"  
"Iv been practising too. Got to keep in shape for my new job"  
"Oh? Is this what's been keeping you away from home and having Yuu worried sick about you?"  
We went a few more rounds before I got bored and of the slow and repetitive motions. I shot into the air with a burst of energy and from above, framed by the flames of the setting sun I fired an incantation-less Shakkaho at his feet that blew up a stone's beneath him and sent debris flying.  
I landed smoothly on the corner of the closest roof to applause from the girls.  
"Very nice, you're getting so much better!" Momo- our most efficient Kido user- said proudly. She had no idea that I had been practising Kido in my spare time, not always legally. "Enough of this, I think you get the idea that iv been paying attention in class. If I go harder I'll hurt you. Come tell me about this new job instead, I'm intrigued"  
"Very well. I can't argue that you've improved immensely" he sighed disappointedly. "If only I could have done more, but you're officially leagues ahead of me. Well done"  
I smiled at that. That was quite the admission to make for someone as prideful as Hatsu.  
We sat down next to the girls who high-fived me on my performance. "Alright, spill it" I demanded.  
"Basically, sometime after you left for school I was wandering around when I bumped into a Soul Reaper who was investigating disappearances in the area. I'd heard a few whispers floating around so I offered to help him and when I told him my name he had heard about my exam scores and what happened..."  
"From what I recall, you were very brave. Not many people would have had the courage to go all the way to the end and stand up to the Captains like that. It was very admirable" Rukia said kindly.  
"Thank you. That's what the Soul Reaper said too. He seemed a really down to earth and friendly guy, not like some of the Reapers you see around here who are all business. He saw it from the perspective of someone without spirit energy that would want to be useful to the world, so he offered to call on me off he ever needed help, and he did- lots of times. I gathered quite a handful of like-minded individuals who also wanted to protect people like us and we've formed the Unofficial Rukon Patrol Squad.  
We've been going further afield in missions recently, but it frees up the Soul Reapers to do more important tasks."  
"Wow, that is super cool. See, you may not have been inducted into school, but your actions got you noticed! This is what you wanted right? To make a difference"  
He nodded and smiled. "If everything goes well and we prove ourselves useful, Lieutenant Shiba, the Reaper that heads the operation, will request for us to become an official unit under the command of the Seireitei. Eventually, I hope to have every District as safe a place as Harumachi... The Soul Reapers don't have time a mission like that, but we live here. We will make time."  
"Ambitious as always-" then the details clicked and I nearly choked on my drink. "Wait, Shiba? As in Kaien Shiba?"  
"Yeah, that's him. Do you know him?"  
"Do I know him?" I scoffed glancing at the girls who had been listening quietly.  
"Wasn't he the guy Shuhei mentioned the other day while he talking to that kid?" Rukia asked catching on to my train of thought.  
"Yeah that's him, and that guy he was speaking to was probably a relative from the same clan. Kaien is the guy that briefly trained me when I first started aiming for the academy. I owe him a lot and even though I haven't seen him in years iv been hearing his name a lot lately,"  
"I'm not surprised. He has a lot of duties around here. He was at the academy just a couple weeks ago investigating an incident. We were supposed to go on patrol one night and he pulled out saying we may not hear from him for a few days. Not sure what it was about, he never told me"  
I winced. That was no doubt the night of the invasion. He was probably part of the squad that was supposed to eradicate the leftover hollows. No doubt he had been close by during the incident, if not part of the manhunt for me and probably had a ton of paperwork after it was over. Poor guy.  
"Good to know he's still around and doing well. Say hi for me next time you see him, he might remember me"  
"I'll do that. The only reason I didn't mention you is that I doubted you would know someone high ranked. Seems you're already pretty connected in that place, Huh?" He laughed.  
"I guess so..." I laughed awkwardly thinking of Shuhei, Kanisawa and my Commander. He had no idea just how deep I was.  
"Hey, if I come home for the end of year holidays, can I join you on patrol?" I asked curiously the thought popping into my head. "It'll be good work experience for me"  
Hatsu pondered it for a moment. "As long as my comrades are comfortable with it, I don't see why not. We often work alongside the Reapers but usually at a distance, branching off into two groups and reporting back later. I'm not sure how they would feel about it..."  
"It's no problem if they don't want me around, I was just thinking ahead to the long break... You know what happens when I get bored" I reminded him.  
"Vividly." He grimaced. "I'll definitely put it to them for the sake of your family's sanity"  
Feeling inspired after Hatsu heart-warming story we headed to bed but spent much of the night lying awake telling stories of our childhood. After that, I felt like I knew my friends better than before like we were finally on the same page and understood each other.

I didn't want to leave for the academy the next day. It had been so nice to get away from the stress and responsibilities of school and one day was not enough to catch up with my family after months of separation. But unfortunately, I couldn't just stop the clock from ticking. Things to do, lessons to learn and all that crap.  
We were ready to leave by midday so we could arrive back in time for dinner and organise ourselves for tomorrows new school week before bed.

"I'll be back soon, okay? There not long left of the school year so hold on tight until winter"  
"We'll be fine, don't worry so much" Hatsu smiled giving me a quick hug.  
"Thank you for stopping by, It was a wonderful surprise. Just seeing you in person puts my mind at ease. Oh, and remember you're always welcome here too ladies" Yuu told my friends who both hugged her despite only knowing her for a day.  
I waved out of the window as we rode out of town and left my little paradise behind again.  
"I love your family." Rukia sighed wistfully. "You're so lucky to have grown up with them"  
I smiled. "Yeah, it was all down to luck and I'm grateful that I struck gold."  
"Hey, I was wondering..." Momo piped up. She had been staring quietly out of the window as if contemplating something. "My village isn't far from school, would we be able to stop off and visit? It won't take us long to walk back to campus from there" Momo asked.  
"Sure. We'll get dropped off there and head the rest of the way on foot" I decided and before we knew it we were pulling up outside of a small collection of houses that lined the banks of a shallow stream tucked away in the middle of the woods in district one.

The whole town was visible upon approach and no bigger than the road that led up to our manor back in Harumachi. Small, definitely not as lively or wealthy as Harumachi, but peaceful and safe.  
"This is where I grew up, Nemukawa. It's not much but it's home" she smiled fondly leading up past the entrance point of the village and along the river.  
As she went she got much the same response as I did, people calling greetings to her and pulling her over to catch up.  
Halfway along the village path, a young male voice called out to us from somewhere high up and we looked around to find its owner.  
"Look what the wind blew him, quick somebody gets a broom before the place starts looking untidy"  
"Little Shiro!" Momo said brightly looking up to a high stone wall between two of the tall wooden Japanese style brown houses.  
A young boy, probably no older than ten or twelve with snow white hair and deep teal blue eyes wearing a pale blue yukata sat on top of the wall kicking his feet as he eats watermelons, the empty shells and seed scattered all over the floor beneath him messily.  
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me little Shiro-" he complained, a vein in his forehead twitching in annoyance.  
"You'll always be little Shiro to me... Except maybe when you join the big school like me!"  
He tsked indignantly. "I don't need to go to stupid big school, big school is for nerds. And anyway, who said you had to come home, bed wetter."  
Momo blushed bright red at the insult. My temper started to boil very quickly. I immediately knew I did not like the petulant little snot rag by his harsh tone. He wasn't just joking, he sounded very serious. "Hey, don't be so rude. She came here to say hi to you," I retaliated.  
"But I didn't want her to. I can take care of myself"  
"How ungratefu-" before I could finish he fired the watermelon seeds in his mouth at my face and blew a raspberry at me.  
I exploded and Rukia had to grab my arms to stop me from leaping up there to kick his ass. "C'mere so I can rip your tongue out and make you eat it!"  
"Kimi, calm down! He doesn't mean anything by it, he's just playing around"  
"That's what you think-" he mumbled under his breath.  
Rukia let go and I stood back so I wouldn't be tempted to jump up there and wring his neck. "Good job you're a kid else I'd have slapped you into next week for that"  
"You're a kid yourself, spiky head"  
"What'dyu call me?!" I went for him again but Momo stepped in front of me.  
"Shiro, these are my two roommates Rukia and Kimiko and I'd like you to be nice to them because they are really good friends of mine"  
"You sure know how to pick good friends," he said sarcastically taking another bite out of a watermelon. Everything about him aggravated me, his tone, sarcasm, manners or lack of. I just knew I would never be able to stand the sight of this kid.  
"Well... I was just passing through and I did say I would visit sometime so I stopped by. How is your grandma?"  
Suddenly the kid's whole demeanour changed to one of worry. "She's... okay," he said simply. "She's just sleeping at the moment. She gets tired really quickly"  
Momo glanced at us. "Well, I have some goodies for you to share with her so I'll go leave them just inside the door.  
"Don't you dare wake her!" he called after us but didn't try to stop us.  
"I'm sorry Kimi, he's really not that bad when you get to know him" she sighed disappointedly as we walked through the thin bamboo door.  
I didn't answer, I was too focused on a weird the sensation that was washing over us.  
Immediately upon walking into the small house, I felt that something was wrong. A chill ran up my spine and the hair on my arms stood on end. It was familiar in the sense of me being used to feeling my own icy cold energy, but at the same time, it had a distinctly different signature. Nowhere near the level of the shrine and not as strong as my energy when I lost control of it, but definitely tangible.  
"Is that...?" Rukia began to ask rubbing her arms.  
Momo nodded. "She's getting sick from the cold. If it doesn't stop soon I'm afraid she will die of hyperthermia... but this house is just..."  
"Momo, it's not the house that's cold-" I told her firmly.  
"She's right. This is spiritual energy residue, it feels like its been building for a long time"  
"What? Do you think that Shiro-?"  
"Most definitely. He has spirit energy and its strong, but maybe he doesn't know it, or just doesn't know how to control it. But you're right if his grandma is repeatedly exposed to it, she'll be in danger... Especially if her soul is weaker, it will overpower her"  
"Then we need to do something!"  
"What can we go?" Rukia grimaced. "We can't exactly kidnap him and drag him to the academy for training. We can't leave her all alone in this state"  
"We can't help, but there might be someone else who can," I said my memory clicking into gear. "Remember Shuhei's conversation with that Shiba guy? When they thought strong kids may be living nearby and they wanted to round them up to go to school?"  
"Oh yeah... do you think Shuhei would be able to recruit Shiro?"  
"Maybe not Shuhei directly, but if we put forward our concerns then maybe they will be pushed into action especially given the incident they were talking about. You heard how concerned they were, it was a really big deal to them"  
"It would be worth a try," Rukia said to Momo.  
She pondered it for a moment. "We have to do something or Shiro will have no family left... I couldn't live with myself knowing that I could have helped but didn't. He would be better off at school if he has power like this"  
"When we get back we will act on it right away. Until then, just relax and try not to worry, okay?" I reassured her I said gripping her hands tightly. "I promise it won't come to the worst"  
We exited the house after checking the bedroom to see if Grandma actually was asleep and leaving some of the sweet snacks from Harumachi for them to enjoy.  
"Alright Shiro, I'm going back to school now. I promise I'll be back soon to say hi so take care until then"  
"Yeah yeah, whatever. I'll look forward to it as a dose of the Flu" he dead-panned looking very unimpressed.  
I didn't waste my time with a farewell. I knew I would only receive an insult in return anyways and I didn't trust myself not to strangle him next time.

A/N:

Sorry if anyone has been getting upload notifications. Im uploading this to my deviant art journals slowly and finding mistakes that need fixing here too, but sometimes it uploads as broken code so I have to reupload it like a million times. Not sure why :(

I'm currently off work with a torn muscle in my shoulder so when my arm doesn't ache like hell I have time to work on this :D I now have like 60% of the chapters up until 42 in draft... 43 or 44 will probably be the end of the academy arc so yep little bit over my estimate lol  
Just a little bit of fluff, I wanted to introduce Toushiro and the best reason I could think to do it was a day trip. The next chapter is gonna take a while cuz idk how to write about music. Dark Raven Day has proven to be better at it than me when he helped with the graduation chapter (which is coming soon I promise) a while ago.  
Dude, please come to my rescue! lol

3rdseatofsquad2  
Yay, glad you like the cover photo. I drew months ago for fun but thought it would be a fitting cover :P Yep, RukiaKimiMomo. Ofc Kimi is the one with the sword instead of the books lol  
You can get a better look at it here on my deviant art, there is a little bit more art for this story lurking there too:

kimikoglaciem/art/Shino-o-Academy-772191717

I agree that if it's done right the villains do always seem more menacing then they explain things because you realise just how smart they are and it feels like the good guys are always ten steps behind, which is hella true for Aizen. Don't worry, I did kinda squeeze Aizen signature line into that chapter though its after the fight.  
Well, with Soi Fon's story I have plans to sort of change the timeline between her and Yoruichi a little due to Kimi's existence and uncontrollable curiosity, but that's a while away and I only have ideas for it at the moment. Let's say Kimi and Yoruichi will be very close unknowingly and she has the shock of her life when she realises the cat can talk lol

Anyways, Onwards and upwards. The botched hollow hunting exam is coming right up after Emerald Eclipse's debut concert! *strums guitar*


	39. Backstage!

A/N: Feel free to skip this one if you don't fancy the fluff. The action continued int he next one ^^

* * *

Chapter 39 - Backstage

We came back from our weekend trip feeling refreshed and energized and went straight to dinner after working up an appetite from all the walking during the day, only to found Renji and Kira already there. They were surprised to see us and seemed a little annoyed that we took off so unexpectedly.

"You did worry us, you know," Kira told us like a father berating his daughters.

"Did leave a note under your door…" I reminded them.

"But "Going away for the day, back tomorrow" doesn't explain a whole lot,"

"Sorry, but it had to be done before one of us exploded."

"Ew, I would not wanna be covered in Kimi snot," Renji cringed stupidly.

"Shut up moron, I mean more in the sense of murdering someone through stress overload; But we're okay now, right Ladies?"

"Yep, were full happiness and yummy food," Momo said sweetly, drawing a smile across her lips with her index fingers.

"And we got to jump off a waterfall, like... five hundred times!" Rukia told him excitedly as if this was the highlight of her trip.

"Did Kimi jump? Should have held her under-" he said entirely seriously as he sawed away at his steak.

I booted him in the ankle under the table causing him to yell loudly and attract stares from the surrounding tables.

"You deserved that," Rukia told him while I acted innocent and continued eating as if nothing had happened.

"No, what I deserve is some of this delicious food you're talking about, I'm not feeling this academy gruel tonight. Did you bring me anything?" he asked hopefully.

"You wish. The food from Kimi's village was way too good to share with you. You'd probably find a problem with it anyway-" Rukia snorted waving her knife in his face.

"Yeah, everything is either too spicy, too sweet or too salty with you, you're impossible to please!" I complained.

"Alright watch where you point that thing Rukia, I already lost my eyebrows once! And it's probably your fault that I'm that way since you ambushed me with the worlds spiciest ramen when I last went to town! My taste buds are destroyed forever"

"I am sure I have no idea what you are insinuating," I said doing my best impression of my Sister's high, sweet, lady-like manners.

"That's bull! You tried to kill me! And what have you got to be so stressed out about anyway?"

I slurped up the last of my soup and choked down half a bread roll before urgently stopping that conversation in its tracks. "Oh, ya know- classes, clubs, the usual crap. Well, it was nice seeing you both but we've got places to be," I rushed leaving no opportunity for arguments and I literally yanked the seats out from under Rukia and Momo before any more questions could be fired.

* * *

"That was close" Rukia sighed as we headed to the studio to find Shuhei and sure enough there he was working on more arrangements for the concert venue. He too seemed a little annoyed when we showed up as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, nice of you to join us." he drawled looking very unimpressed with his trusty clipboard in hand as usual.

"Nice to see you too, Boss. We're ready to go, what are you guys working on?" I said getting straight to business before he could lecture us about taking off.

"You three-" he corrected me waving a pen in my face. "Are working on your timings. I want them perfected by Wednesday so we can move on to costume practice. Now go."

"Okay, fine, jeez. Grouchy or what-" I tsked skulking off to the dance studio, more annoyed about his tone than anything.

"What's gotten into him?" Momo asked worriedly.

"He's just in the bad mood because we didn't ask permission but screw him! We successfully rested reenergized right?!" I demanded.

"Right!" They both nodded.

"We've got more inspiration, more enthusiasm and more ambition! We're gonna work harder to make my family proud, right!?" I asked again, riling them up.

"Right!"

"So from now on we work harder, stress less and have more fun!" I declared.

And that's exactly what we did. The final three weeks in the lead up to our concert passed by in a flash, which was stressful no matter how hard we tried to ignore the deadline; But instead of rushing and getting ourselves in a twist we did as Shuhei had suggested at the beginning of the countdown to doomsday: Just work at the same pace as we usually would, including splitting up so the girls could attend their other clubs. And it worked perfectly. The stress was what was causing us to make mistakes, so once that was removed we were unstoppable.

We nailed our choreography, singing, timings, keeping in sync with each other and the music and quickly went on to full band rehearsals with Shuhei on bass and Aoga on drums.

They even decided to have their own little uniforms made so they wouldn't be recognisable on stage: Baggy black hoodies with green Eclipses printed on the back that covered their hair, tight black jeans with green tartan patches on the butt pockets, black lace-up boots and black lace masquerade masks that matched our own to hide their features.

In a way, they were part of the band but somewhat removed. The get-up looked a little bit ridiculous on Aoga's massive frame but that didn't matter as he wasn't really visible from behind his drum kit anyway, but Shuhei... Well, Shuhei was something else and the fewer thoughts I had about that the better. The first time he came out and gave us a twirl I promptly turned away and pretended to polish my guitar so no one caught me gawking at him like one of his crazy fangirls.

It took many attempts to get everything perfect in rehearsals, but once we did I moved on to an aspect I'd never considered before: Working the crowd into a frenzy.

"Think about it, you've already got that mysteriousness thing going on thanks to the promo posters so people are curious, so now you have to give a good first impression by interacting with those potential fans"

"How are we supposed to do that if we can't give away our identities? We can't exactly go around greeting people" Rukia pointed out logically.

"Of course not. Instead, you give them just enough to keep them happy while staying at arm's length. You can talk to the crowd on stage, try and get them to join in with a song, or if you're not confident enough you could just use certain lyrics to point out into the crowd, like the word "You" and then point to a random person. That way they feel connected and hold a good memory of the night."

"That's pretty simple really, we could all do that," Momo agreed.

So, I practised how I would enter and exit the stage, what I would say and what parts of the song I could use to interact with people for a few days.

But the only way to really nail it, besides looking like a complete goofball while prancing around on our small club room stage with a few members sitting in the rows below acting as a fake audience, was to do it in real life.

In the days leading up to the concert, the school was buzzing more than ever. It was the only thing anyone would talk about and I saw exactly what Shuhei meant by the electric atmosphere that it caused.

My nerves had me kind of dreading the show, but at the same time I was excited and I felt like I just wanted to skip classes entirely, seeing as I couldn't concentrate one bit on the written assignments, and even in the practicals, my mind was clearly not on the fight.

Even Renji noticed that I wasn't paying the blindest bit of attention when he accidentally made a shallow cut on my ankle with his sword. I just hadn't been quick enough to react when usually I would have been in the air preparing for a counter-attack before he could land the swing.

"Earth to Kimi woke up~" he said waving into my face as I sat cross-legged on the spot where the injury had happened watching the blood trickle down and soak into my white socks.

"Oh, sorry..." I mumbled accepting his offer to help me up. He let me balance on his arm as we walked over to find bandages in the store cupboard just off the dojo hall. Rukia and Momo were in a fight of their own and didn't notice us leave.

"What's up with you? You've been spacing out a lot lately"

"Nothing, I'm just tired" I shrugged not even bothering to blame it on the club.

He and Kira had already made their thoughts about me leaving the club if it was too much hard work very clear, except Kira was just saying to play along on the act, seeing as he knew the truth and Renji had no clue.

"Then maybe you should skip the music club for tonight and just go to bed early for a change if it's draining you that much"

I shook my head. "No, I can't. So much to do, so little time" I said not offering much more of an explanation.

I hobbled over to the cupboard and tried tiptoeing for the top shelf but I couldn't reach it even if I jumped. Just when I was about to start climbing the lower shelve Renji pressed up behind me, plucked the roll of fabric off the shelf with no effort whatsoever and dangled it in my face.

"Usually it would be hilarious to watch you solve your midget problems but seeing as I'm the one who hurt you-" he said pointing towards the closest chair. "Sit. With how dazed you are you'll probably end up bandaging your ankles together,"

I pouted indignantly. "I could have just climbed up for it if you gave me a minute"

"I don't think Dao would be happy if you got blood all over his supplies. It's bad enough you've ruined your uniform," I glanced down at this, he was right, there was a dark red stain soaking into the bright red of my Hakama trousers. I would have to go and request a new set later.

"Point taken." I resigned as he kneeled down to wrap the bandage around my ankle. "How are you now?" I asked unexpectedly.

"Me? What about me? I'm always fine"

"You know... that thing we did," I said pointedly know that he would remember the stupid phrase he had used last time we had a moment alone together that could potentially sound terrible if overheard out of context.

"Oh, that? That's old news," he waved the subject away as if it was unimportant and I wondered if he was telling the truth.

"And the nightmares?"

"All gone," he said a little too quickly for my liking. "I mean, It's not like something like that will ever happen again anyway, at least not until after our graduation"

"That's good to hear. You're not as big a pansy as I thought" I smiled and in retaliation, he tugged the bandage super tight making me squeal.

"Ouch, be nice! You're the one who did this to me remember!"

"I wouldn't have done it if you weren't busy zoning out. It's not like I did it on purpose... I would never do it on purpose, not again" he said absently, turning away from my hand that was resting on my knee next to his head covered with a black fingerless glove to hide the ugly scar on my palm. "Alright, all done. Now go rest until the end of class"

"Since when were you the teacher?" I complained putting my knuckles on my hips defiantly.

He gripped my head with his hand and it literally covered my entire scalp, then turned me towards the door. "Go, now. A blind man can see you're really not in the right frame of mind to fight" he said bossily.

I could have argued but I knew he was right, and regardless of how shallow my injury was, it was still a free pass to relax for the rest of the class so I might as well take it while I could.

"Pft, Yes Dad, whatever you say, Sir." I pouted sarcastically and marched off with a slight limp of pain in my step.

Momo and Rukia looked worried out of their minds when they saw me limping back into the hall, but I assured them that it wouldn't affect the performance at all. It was shallow enough to get fixed by the nurses in a matter of minutes.

Thankfully Onabara agreed to let me take some of meditation time to do so, which meant I only had to sit and pretend to be meditating with Ruby for thirty minutes instead of an hour.

There was no way in hell I would be able to clear my mind enough to play an imaginary game of tag with that stupid little crystal in my mind right now anyway. But the candlelight in the blacked out room was nice and relaxing to help ease some of my nerves temporarily.

After meditation Renji predictably asked us if we were coming to show. He had been asking us all week but we had been giving increasingly vague answers like: "We'll see" and "Maybe if I'm not busy".

The only excuse I hadn't tried yet was: "The dog ate my homework" because I knew he wasn't stupid enough to fall for it like my other excuses.

"We don't mind waiting for you if you wanna go get changed, there's time for dinner too unless you wanna get a space in the queue and go after the show?" He asked us as we headed towards the dorms.

"Nah, you two go ahead without us," I said putting on a fake disappointed tone. "I've got detention for breaking curfew the last night," I lied.

"Are you kidding me? On a day like this? Can't you keep out of trouble for five minutes?"

"That's rich coming from you! It was only two minutes but Kanisawa caught me so... you know how she is with rules" I shrugged. He brought the lie without question and turned to try Rukia and Momo instead.

"What about you two? Are you coming?"

"No sorry, we can't. Onigei won't let us skip Kido club for the concert, everyone in our club is in the same boat…" Rukia sighed. This was a complete lie and I hoped he would see through it. Plenty of people all over the academy had abandoned their clubs in favour for the show, hell, some teacher had even cancelled the clubs so they could see it themselves, from what I'd heard while eavesdropping on my travels. I just hoped Renji wouldn't recognise any of our Kido classmates at the concert and question the girl's alibi.

"What the hell-" He started but I cut in before he could question more. If he was getting suspicious, we had to bail, now.

"You'll just have to go and have a good time with Kira. Let us know how it goes if we don't make it in time, or do you need us to hold your hand over there?" I challenged looping my arms with Rukia's and Momo's and leading them away.

"Like hell!"

"Exactly. Well, we best get going before we're late. We'll try and get there if we make it out early. Have fun!"

Renji looked like he wanted to continue the debate, but we marched away around the corner before he could say another word.

We waited against the wall to make sure they were heading in the opposite direction.

I heard a "Well, looks like its just the two of us" from Kira before footsteps leading away from us.

"Okay let's make a break for it, go go go," I said breaking into a jog down the hall and out of the doors.

* * *

We took the same route that Shuhei had shown us on our first photo shoot, making sure to use the bushes and shadows to travel on the ground out of sight, occasionally flash-stepping over rooftops when people blocked our path.

"Ooohh this is so exhilarating! It feels like we're breaking so many rules but I'm so excited!" Momo said and I laughed in wonder. This coming from the most strait-laced, rule-abiding member of our group? I was just waiting to see a flying pig shoot across the sky.

"This is nothing," I said carelessly, thinking of the other instances of me leaping between buildings at night, but I did a U-turn before I could dig a hole that I couldn't get out of. "Uh… You just wait until they're trying to guess who we are while we're walking around right under their noses"

"I can only imagine how hard it must be to keep secrets like that" Rukia snickered.

"Well, if tonight goes as planned I'm sure you'll get to experience the thrill"

We quickly reached the southern field where the performance hall stood alone at the edge of the grounds surrounded by forest. A crowd of people was gathered in front of the doors, easily hundreds of people but thankfully Shuhei had prepared for this, marking out a route along the forest treeline that would lead us to the secret basement trap door around the back.

Around the back of the building stood two club members who were stationed to stop anyone unauthorized from entering and it seemed they had been expecting us. Recognising us immediately they knocked for the trap door to be opened on from the inside, revealing a brightly lit basement beneath the hall.

Inside was the entirety of our club and some other helpers from associated clubs who had been assisting with the project- like fashion club stylists and our dance club choreographer. All of them were working as organisers, stagehands, technicians, prop specialities, audio engineers and even makeup artists, nervously awaiting our arrival.

Someone called out for Shuhei and he appeared from a room off to the side already in his black costume and looking stressed out. His long raven hair was sticking out at odd angles like he had been running his fingers through it.

"Boss Man! Were here!" I waved.

"Finally, I thought you'd been kidnapped or something"

"Sorry, we had to go to meditation- Couldn't get out of it" Momo offered.

"No worries, did anyone see you leave?"

"Only Renji and Kira but they didn't see where we went," Rukia told him.

"Good. Now let's get you three into costume"

He whisked us off into a dressing room where the fashion club helpers got us prepared in full make-up and costumes. We had never been quite so pampered before. Unlike our practices, they covered us in glitter and green gemstones stuck to our faces and all sorts of other cool little accessories.

Once we were transformed into Jade, Olive and Sage we wondered around aimlessly waiting for everyone else to finish their preparations.

I felt helpless. It wasn't like I could get involved with everyone else's jobs and I always seemed to be under someone's feet, so I moved upstairs to the small, shadowy backstage area.

This space was bigger than the stage itself with abandoned props from long-forgotten shows leaning against the walls, and all sorts of random ropes and pulleys hung from the ceiling. A few more people milled around testing out the stage light fixtures and other technical issues, but it was far quieter up here.

I peeked through a gap in the massive red stage curtain that blocked us from the audience and saw the familiar hall from a new perspective. It looked bigger than before, probably because the only stand down on the ground was serving drinks. My only memory of this place was when it was filled to the brim with stands and booth all those months ago.

The front doors were open with a handful of security guards keeping the crowds were saw on our approach at bay. The hum of excited chatter was echoing into the hall loudly and impatient people were beginning to chant "Let us in, let us in, let us in!"

I pulled away, my heart racing. I shouldn't have done that. Now I was even more nervous.

Rukia crept up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder making me jump out of my skin. "Come on let's get one last bit of practise in while we can. Shuhei is opening in twenty minutes."

Seeing as we were pushed for space, our idea of us practising was me playing an acoustic version of the song with a wooden guitar I found in the storeroom just off the stage and we all sang along quietly, keeping out of everyone else's way.

Having something to focus on did calm our nerves slightly, that is until Shuhei sent a message down the grapevine for the door to be opened for admissions.

A stampede overhead a few minutes later confirmed the arrival of the floods of students and in a few more minutes someone came back to report that the hall was full to its five hundred capacity but there were still hundreds more outside.

Shuhei decided that the entrance should be roped off for safety but the doors should be left open and guarded so that people can still look from outside and watch if they like.

"Everyone gathered around, I want a word before we open" he called out to the whole crew and everyone slowly stopped what they were doing to line the edges of the room and listen.

"This is it," he told us seriously. "This is where our hours of blood, sweat and tears culminate, but I just want everyone to know that whatever the outcome of tonight, I am proud of every single one of you and thankful for all of your efforts. We couldn't have gotten this far without your determination.

I stepped forward from our corner and wandered into the circle next to him. "But you'll be even more proud of us when those stage lights go down, Am I right?!" Everyone mumbled and nodded their agreement. "I said am I right?!" I repeated more insistently, waving my hands up and down indicating for them to crank the volume.

"Right!" Everyone agreed loudly.

"We are gonna go out there and give them a hell of a show and every single one of you will do your best to support us from back here. And afterwards, we can all relax until the next one" I smiled around at them. I stretched my hand out in front of me in Rukia and Momo's direction and they skipped forward and placed theirs on top of mine. "C'mon everyone, bring it-"

The circle closed around us until my hand was weighed down by the hands of everyone who could reach.

"Any last words, Boss?"

"Yeah, lets rock this place to the ground! 1, 2, 3-" he counted pushing our piled up hands up and down. "EMERALD ECLIPSE!" our hands flew into the air and everyone dispersed, bouncing with a new found energy.

I stood off to the right of the stage out of view of the restless crowd with my guitar strapped around my shoulders fidgeting until Shuhei gave the signal and the hall lights went off completely.

The crowd roared in anticipation at the clear sign that the show was about to begin and I rushed forward, using the momentary darkness to appear onstage out of nowhere. I climbed on top of one of the tall black amps at the edge of the stage so I would be the focal point when the lights were turned back on.

My sudden appearance made the crowd shout again and the lights going back up was the signal for Rukia and Momo to come running onto stage from either side to join me.

It was just like my dream. Standing there overlooking the crowd, all of the waving, cheering, happy faces swaying below me, all excited to see something different to end their school week.

"Good evening Shino-o academy!" I called out and even I was surprised by how loud and reverberating the mic was. I didn't even sound like myself for a moment. I got a good deal of applause in reply.

"Are you all alive out there? I can't hear yooouu~" I taunted cupping my hand to my ear in fake deafness. They cheered louder.

"Oh Hi!" I chirped pretending I had only just noticed them, "I am Jade-"

"I'm Olive!" Momo squeaked waving happily at the crowd from another amp on the left of the stage.

"And I am Sage" Rukia finished from the other side.

"And we are Emerald Eclipse!" We concluded together. The crowd applauded us eagerly.

"Everyone ready for some music!? I hope so! Please enjoy!"

At the back of the stage, Aoga had already slipped into his drum set and Shuhei was hovering nearby trying to look inconspicuous on Bass.

Aoga counted us in with this drumsticks as he had done in practice and we began.

"Hurry, hurry; my heart is in a hurry" I started with the first line making a heartbeat motion with my hand over my chest.

"Slowly, slowly; time goes so slow when I'm waiting for you" Momo picked up swaying dreamily from side to side.

"But I can be a good girl, not a naked girl" Rukia song loudly.

"So I'll be forceful, goin' goin', I couldn't give a damn" I picked up starting our three-person lyrical sequence again.

"Whether it's sweet or sour,"

"Yeah, it's a battle of love on this weekend night!"

Once we were past those first few lines we loosened up, getting lost in the flow of the music instead of focusing rigidly on getting out parts right and we were able to move around more freely on stage.

As I sang, making sure to use things like the "ABC", "XYZ" and "321" lyrics to point to three members of the crowd at a time, I spotted Renji and Kira off near the far left wall near where the Stealth club table would have been on welcome night, Renji's red hair sticking out like a glow stick in the dark and I couldn't believe he hasn't suspected us yet.

Grinning brightly I made sure to point and wink at Renji on the "I Love you, It's survival!" part of the song just to see if he would notice and talk about it later on and give me a reason to taunt him.

That amusing moment gave me a burst of energy and put every last bit of it into the performance, my nerves ebbing away and sheer joy taking over. This was what I loved. Music combined with breaking the rules and going completely undetected. This was the rush that I lived for.

When we finished the crowd were cheering and louder than ever and I just took a moment to stand there looking out one last time while I caught my breath.

"Thank you... thank you, everyone!" I said sincerely feeling a little bit choked up. Rukia and Momo skipped over to me and hugged me tightly, bouncing up and down still full of adrenaline. Even Shuhei and Aoga came over and joined the group hug.

"You were amazing!" Shuhei shouted down to us over the noise in the background. "That went better than I ever could have imagined!"

"Couldn't have done it without you guys!"

"Come on, let's move before your absence is noted" Aoga rumbled gently nudging me towards the stage exit and we waved to the crowd as we left.

"See you next time!" I called out and they cheered more.

Everyone in the club and the helper came to congratulate us on our success backstage, but we didn't have time to stand around chatting.

Back upstairs the crowd was kicking up a fuss, starting chants of "Encore, encore, encore!"

I felt terrible that we only have one song to give them. I'd have given anything to go back up there and just play something, anything at all to give them a longer concert but we regrettably had to ignore the calls for more and quickly change back into our uniform.

We scrubbed off every trace of makeup and then hurried back out the trapdoor the way we came in.

From the outside, we headed through the shadowy tree line in the setting sun and came out at the top of the path that led down to the hall where a few months ago I had fainted from an amnesia attack on the Welcome party night.

We ran down the path just as the crowd outside of the hall realised that the show was over and started to disperse, letting those inside filter out too.

As we arrived the boys were just pushing through the crowds, Renji using his bulky frame to push a path towards us.

"Hey! Did we miss it?" Rukia asked in fake curiosity.

"Missed it?! Missed it?! You missed the best show of the EVER! They only had one song but it was EPIC. You should have seen them, they were so awesome and those outfits... Better than the photos! And the singer actually looked at me!"

Rukia punched him in the arm. "Are you perving on the popstars?!"

"Renji that's gross!" I complained as we headed back up to the dorms.

"Bro, I don't think she was looking at you directly, just in our general direction" Kira cringed awkwardly.

"I swear on my life, she winked at me!"

"The sight of your face probably brought a tear to her eye" I coughed and he yanked on the blue ribbon that held my ponytail in retaliation. "Ouch!"

"Next show I'll prove it! We will stand right in front of the stage and I'll prove that she noticed me, if you don't go and get detention again of course"

"You're lucky you have such brightly coloured hair, it's like a beacon that she can't miss, but I wouldn't get your hopes up" I shrugged trying to smash his dreams and I just happened to glance at Momo who was giving me that knowing look of amusement. To my horror, I noticed she still had her green contact lenses in. My eye flitted to Rukia and I saw she did too which meant I must have also forgotten.

"But Uuuuh... Yeah- can't promise anything on the detentions anyway, seeing as the Head Girl has got it in for me. Come on let's get to dinner, I'm dying for the bathroom after all that sitting around writing lines for Kanisawa" I said turning my gaze away from Renji.

This was bad, my icy-blues and Rukia's violet eyes were far too noticeable. If he looked at us surely the game would be up. I grabbed the girls by the arm and we marched ahead.

"Too much info. Do you really need to go together?"

"Girls travel in packs, you know!"

* * *

Sorry it took so long. I had it fully written then accidentally deleted the file and could only recover a draft so had to start over, kinda lost motivation after working on it for nothing

Just a little bit of fun really, I kinda wanted to leave this out but I have been building up to it in Kimi's backstory with it being her main hobby in her past and future that will influence her relationships with… people. So why not *shrugs*

I didn't really want to break this into another chapter but it was distracting from the next one and making a little bit too long so I split it.

The song I used is Love Survive by Scandal, It's just that nice mix of rock and pop and the band have already done a bleach opening and an ending (Shoujo S & Harukaze) so it fits well. If you watch the music video you'll see what I mean about the background dance moves and the guitar choreography. That'll give you the idea, Ive never really tried to describe music before so it was kinda hard to put into words. Yes, I am a massive Music fan (Rock, Metal, Visual Kei, Jrock, Jpop etc) :P

Anyways! Action up next. I'm uploading this and the next together for anyone who wanted to skip seeing as they were originally one chapter.


	40. Saviour

Chapter 40 - Saviour

The day after the concert the hype was still very real, and now the newspaper club had published a five-page article about the band, listing every shred of information they had on us.

It included pictures from the live show as well as character profiles and full song lyrics, and I wondered how they would have gotten hold of such information, especially the stuff about our favourite colours and favourite foods.

Then I remembered that Shuhei had given Kira access to the monstrous binder of plans, which we now referred to as "The Holy Grail".

The little snitch had gone and used its teachings as publishing material to get a scoop, though admittedly it was really in depth and well written as always. I made a mental note to pick a fight with him in Zanjutsu so I had a reason to kick his ass later.

It went on like that for a few more months and we continued going covertly under the radar with no one having the slightest suspicion about us, even though Rukia accidentally let it slip that she had been at the music club with one night instead of Arts and Craft club.

Renji did question it but I covered the mistake quickly with the excuse that she was helping me design outfits for a production happening at the end of the year. This wasn't a lie of course. We were already at least halfway through and Shuhei wanted the graduation ceremony to be like a grand finale, so we had already made doodles for the occasion.

We picked up the pace now that we had nailed it once and we were now releasing at least two songs a month and playing a show every weekend, though sometimes I played solo cover songs of my own choice just to lengthen the show slightly.

Kira eventually made for his sneaky newspaper trick by joining the band as our pianist after he casually let it slip that he learned to play the Piano as a kid and we just happened to need someone for the keyboard which was essentially the same thing.

Classes went on as normally including me getting told off for daydreaming during classes, or getting into trouble for something Renji did, or somehow managing to piss off Kanisawa just by looking at her.

Soon enough our tests were upon us. They started with basic demonstrations all of our classes in which we scored points that would accumulate to a final score and overall grade, then our first outdoor test came: Konso practises.

This was a big deal because it took place after curfew. This was the first time I had been out of ten o'clock with permission, and the first time that any of my classmates had ever been out at night so this was huge for them, but the test itself was dull, to say the least.

We gathered in the Library courtyard where a bunch of sixth years waited for us. They explained that dummies had been released around campus and we were to Konso them. Simple as that.

So, we ran around for an hour planting the butts of our swords on dummy spirit's foreheads.

The only thing the test really did was allow me to understand what exactly had happened when I was sent here from the World of the Living.

I was surprised to find that the memory was fairly clear in my mind now expect for their face. The more I performed Konso, the more I understood why the faceless Soul Reaper man had sounded so thoroughly bored when I had panicked about being sent to the afterlife. For us, it was just a boring, uneventful job that required no skill, talent or strength whatsoever but it had to be done; For the spirits, they were facing the terrifying unknown of the other side, a feeling I remembered vividly. Now that I understood what had happened to me it wasn't such a big deal anymore. The spirit particles that constituted my body had simply been pulled apart, sent through dimensions to the Soul Society and I had woken there as a reborn soul, though my memory loss was still a mystery, even after I told my friends the full story. None of them could understand why I'd lost all recollection of the majority of my past life.

The real test came a few weeks later when the Hollow Hunting exam arrived. We'd had the date on our calendars for months now, ever since Onabara had casually mentioned it in one of our Theory classes and was widely considered one of the more interesting events of the year because it would take place in the World of the Living.

As with all the other days that promised an exciting class, I woke full of energy and enthusiasm which resulted in the annoying, hyperactive side of me the others dreaded.

Classes for the day were cancelled in favour of the single, hour-long test. The only information we were given was the location of the test, the roof of the main academy building at the North of campus.

We arrived to find a Senkaimon, a gate that linked our world with the World of the Living, and to our surprise three familiar faces. Shuhei, Kanisawa and Aoga stood in front of it the Senkaimon waiting patiently for more of us to arrive and blend in with the small group of early birds that had beat us to it.

"Hey, Shuhei, Aoga!" I called running to him. "I heard this was something to do with sixth-years, but I didn't know it would be you guys!"

"Ah, Nice to see you turn up early for a change."

"Hey, you know I always turn up early for parties!"

"Yeah, it's our turn to host the show this time," Aoga grunted and I swear Shuhei covertly elbowed him in the ribs for using such a blatant reference to our concerts. Even Rukia, Momo and Kira picked up on the words and gave each other quick knowing glances of amusement.

I noticed that the sixth years had a collar around their necks, like a grey plastic bar with a button on the side and they all had their Zanpakuto's hanging on their backs in the open instead of in their grey sword bags as per academy rules like we did.

"You better take this seriously Murasaki, this test isn't a game for any of us" Kanisawa chipped in, looking annoyed that I dared to approach the Head Boy and his right-hand man such an informal manner.

"Alright, I was only saying Hi..." I muttered backing away to join the rest of the crowd with my friends.

"You can say Hi tonight after class," Shuhei said with a wink.

"HEAD BOY!" Kanisawa yelped scandalised at such an out of context remark.

Even Aoga and Kira did a double take.

"Dude, too much," Renji complained looking away from us awkwardly and I blushed a deep scarlet.

"T-that's not what he meant!" I stuttered as the girls wiggled their eyebrows at me to make the moment even more embarrassing.

"What? I mean at the music club! What did you think I was talking about?!" He said with a slight blush creeping into his cheeks too.

Kanisawa cleared her throat. "Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding, but I would prefer there to be no... relations between Seniors and Junior. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do a head count!" And she zoomed away leaving the conversion abruptly.

"Well, that wasn't awkward at all" I heard Kira mutter as we wandered away to join the rest of the gathering crowd.

"She is such a stick in the mud, everything is always so serious with her. I mean I knew that's not what he meant… I think?" Renji muttered glancing at me with a raised eyebrow.

"No! That is not what he meant!" I snapped adamantly but thankfully Shuhei brought the debate to a standstill with the beginning of the test.

"Alright. Seems everyone is here- Good afternoon first years. For those of you who don't know us, or have been living under a rock for the past six months, I am Shuhei Hisagi, Head Boy and leader of the Iron dorm" he introduced and a rumble of cheers broke out from the first year Iron boys, including Renji.

Simultaneously more commotion started among the girls of the group for an entirely different reason. I should have been used to them treating Shuhei, the most popular guy in school, like a particularly succulent cut of meat by now; Even I had to admit he wasn't exactly the worst person to share a stage with, which was why it was so embarrassing when my friends saw the amount of time we spent together as suspicious, but after having spent so much time around him I had gotten over that initial starstruck feeling that all the other girls had, and now the constant gawking tended to a little... Tiresome.

I rolled my eyes. "Such Neanderthals, get a grip."

"Just because we're better than you!" Renji hissed down at me thinking I meant the enthusiastic Iron boys.

"Pft, you wish!"

"This is Kanadeko Kanisawa, Head Girl and leader of the Emerald dorm," then the emerald girls replied with louder cheers and I couldn't help but smile and join in.

"You were saying?" I said nudging him in the ribs with my elbow.

"I'll wipe the floor with you if you don't zip it"

"Bring it on!" I challenged him.

"And this is our classmate Aoga Ishiyama. We will be leading this operation today." Shuhei finished.

The chatter and excitement continued until Kanisawa had to call out for quiet. She blew one shrill blast of a whistle and everyone shut up instantly.

"Alright settle down. You're going to split into groups of three and get ready to go. The quickest way is to join the two people closest to you,"

Immediately Rukia and Momo seemed to magnetise towards each other and Kira just happened to be closest to them.

Then it clicked that our little group was an odd number. "Oh crap... That means.."

"I'm stuck with you? What are you gonna do, bite the hollows ankles to off? Hey, Shuhei, can I swap?"

"No swapping, we don't have time for that," Shuhei replied to the general group as an added rule.

"Just because we're a team doesn't mean we can't keep track of the score" I reminded him slyly.

"Guys, you're team, not opponents. You're not supposed to be one-upping each other here" Momo pointed out exasperatedly. "Jeez, you two will do anything to start a war!"

"Not war, just a little bit of healthy competition. Nothing wrong with that," I grinned.

"Trust the two troublemakers to end up alone together. You three-" Kanisawa said sneaking up behind us and addressing Rukia, Momo and Kira. "Keep an eye on them, don't let them do anything stupid."

"We don't need babysitting!" I snapped indignantly.

"I will make that decision." And she wandered back to the Senkaimon.

"Evil cow." I hissed under my breath once she was out of earshot.

"Alright. Everyone in their groups? Good." Shuhei called out. "A group of my sixth-year classmates has already entered the World of the Living and constructed a barrier. Once inside, each group will engage in combat with dummy hollows."

"The sixth-years are here only to create a combat-ready environment and demonstrate organisational skills as part of our assessment. They will not assist in combat." Aoga explained. I blinked in astonishment. That was the longest sentence I had ever heard him speak.

"You first years will be assessed on your hollow killing abilities, practical skills and teamwork. Remember, everything you have learned over the last six months can and should be put into practice here. Stick together, do not stray from your group." Kanisawa clarified.

"Is everyone ready?" There was a faint grumble of affirmation.

"The Head Girl asked: Are you ready, first years?" Shuhei asked loudly and more insistently.

I had to laugh. The idiot was copying my crowd stirring tactics from the live shows almost word for word and it worked like a charm. My class shouted "YES!" much louder on the second attempt.

"That's better."

"Okay, let's go. Open the gate!" Kanisawa called out and the large wooden doors began to slide open.

Aoga led the way, a Hell Butterfly fluttered down as he passed the threshold and the same happened for the rest of us. I'd never actually seen one before apart from in my textbooks. I held up a finger and it fluttered around gracefully as if saying hello before landing.

"You should have no problem with this, huh Superstar?" Shuhei smirked in a low whisperer as I passed him standing at the side of the gate to make sure everyone got through okay.

"Dude, piece of cake! This ain't my first rodeo after all," I agreed, referring to the infamous hollow invasion, but he had no idea that I had long ago surpassed fighting dummies in favour of far more dangerous targets, and hopefully, he would never find out the truth.

I jogged ahead using my shortness to duck and weave through the crowd to catch up with the others.

As the light from the academy grounds faded, we entered what they called The Precipice World for the first time. A long, claustrophobic tunnel with thick, purple, slimy looking walls that gave the impression of being inside the belly of a colossal snake.

"Hey Renji, you scared?" I taunted mischievously when I caught up to him.

He gave an indignant 'Tsk'. "Like hell, they're not even real hollows."

"See, I told you everything would feel like child's play after what we've faced- but don't worry, I'll take over solo if you get too tired from all the exercise"

"Can you just go back to bed and start over again, only less annoying?" he said making a grab for me but I ducked, blew a raspberry at him and skipped ahead to join up with the others before he could throttle me.

He did look a little pale. Knowing Renji he was lying about being okay just to make me stop feeling bad about what happened back then.

No doubt the nightmares hadn't stopped and he was probably comparing this test to the raid against the massive dragon hollow in all its burning glory, though this would obviously be a pushover in comparison.

I was only winding him up to lighten the mood and make this test more fun and less worrisome. But he was right, they were only dummies which we had fought a million times before under better and worse conditions. No big deal. We would be in and out in less than an hour with a nice high score, no sweat.

The Senkaimon doors, shining radiantly as if lit from behind by the sun, opened up on our approach revealing anything but sunny weather and our Hell Butterflies vanished into thin air, their jobs of guiding us along the path completed.

The World of the Living exam environment was bizarre, unlike anything I had ever seen. Besides the fact that we had switched between a mild autumn morning in the Seireitei to the chilly dead of night here, the place just looked alien. It was constructed of dark metal, reflecting under the strong moonlight. Tall towers of metal with platforms placed at intervals and ladders ascending them were scattered all over the place, and in the distance, I could vaguely see what looked like water.

The air smelled of a mix of salt and oil, so I guessed we were on some sort of seaside production factory or something.

We walked into the open cautiously, not wanting to wander off into this unfamiliar environment, at least until the sixth-years were with us to give us any final instructions we needed to hear.

You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Everyone seemed to be waiting for something nasty to pop up and attack us out of nowhere but judging by the glistening blue barrier dome high above our heads, designed to keep us in and anything harmful out, that would be impossible and the sight of it faintly reassured me.

"Okay," Shuhei called out as the Senkaimon sealed shut behind him, his voice bouncing and echoing off the strange metallic surfaces. "I'll blow my whistle to signal the beginning of the exam, when I blow it again you are to return to this rendezvous point. Don't stray too far. You may begin in 3, 2-" and he blasted on the whistle which echoed and reverberated sharply just like his voice.

We all scattered heading in random directions around narrow alleyways and tall metal buildings.

It wasn't long before I spotted something out of the corner of my eye and flash forward. I unsheathed Ruby like lighting and cut the dummy in half.

"Too slow Renji, one point to me!"

"That was mine, thief!" He complained.

"You heard what Momo said: Were teammates not opponents. Every kill counts for both of us"

"Fine, but I'm still keeping score to prove a point"

I shrugged. "Have it your way then!"

We ran together but attacked enemies separately, counting out loud as we went.

"Five- caved the poor thing's skull in," he said giving a running commentary on the quality of his kills.

"Six! Not bad, shame you're so slow, your score could be so much higher if you used your senses properly"

"Hey, I'm not the ninja who goes sneaking around at night. I don't have time to hone my senses like you"

"Ssshh! Not so loud, idiot!"

"What? It's true!"

"Yeah but I don't want anyone catching me, remember? That's the whole point of being stealthy- to go undetected" I growled angrily hoping no one was close enough to hear us. Now I knew we were right to keep our little musical secret from him too, he definitely wouldn't be able to keep it to himself.

"But I guess you're right. We don't need to go all out here really, that would be an unnecessary waste of energy against these push over hunks of junk" I decided, watching the dummy stutter and die with Ruby embedded in its chest.

"Well, it's not like we have to watch our backs this time so maybe we could go all out, just for the fun of it?"

"Not true, they must be observing us somehow else how would they be able to score everyone? There must be some sort of surveillance." I said looking around suspiciously to see if I could spot any hidden cameras, but nothing immediately obvious caught my eye.

"Oh yeah… I never thought of that…" he said skewering a dummy through the throat.

"Just don't get complacent. Keep in mind that we are being watched, and just because these things don't have brains doesn't mean they can't counter foreseeable attacks, you remember the dummies before the invasion, right? They packed a punch" I told him.

"But these ones aren't attacking, it seems like they're programmed to run and be chased down" he pointed out as one skittered into the next area.

"Hmm... Perhaps. They seem to move differently" I admitted.

"You two having fun down there?" Came an echoey voice from above us. We looked up and saw Rukia peering over the edge of a tower.

"Yeah, are you?"

"Yeah, this isn't so bad after all. You two suck as a team by the way!"

"Take that back, we are a very dynamic duo thank you very much! Right, Renji?"

"Seven! We would be more dynamic if you quit yapping and start attacking, or do I have to go solo after all?"

"You've been going solo this whole time! And you're the one yapping at me! Rukia, try and meet up with us somewhere" I called up to the heavens.

"Gotcha!" and she took off out of sight.

But before the others could find their way down to us, I somehow managed to get separated from Renji. One minute he was there, the next he had vanished.

I was left standing alone in a wide-open courtyard area feeling considerably vulnerable.

"Renji?" I called out hesitantly, but no reply. "Crap, where did he go?" I cursed in frustration.

Even though I knew the hollows were only animatronics I couldn't help but let slight fear wash over me at being alone in such a dark unfamiliar place.

So, I did what I do best in bad situations, I went into stealth mode.

I ran to the shadows to conceal myself from anything that might be lurking and sprinted through the empty alleyways and tunnels searching for him, occasionally flitting in and out of the darkness for a silent kill.

After cutting down sixteen of them in a row I hid around a shadowy corner to catch my breath and survey my surroundings. Where the hell did he run off to!? I thought angrily. We were all warned not to stray from our groups, so what did the idiot go and do?

I shouldn't have been surprised, he had a habit of forgetting about formations in team exercises and going solo, just like last time when I had to rescue him.

I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind to sense the spiritual pressures around me. There were plenty of red ribbons scattered around in the distance and I easily recognised my friend's signatures, floating around like banners with "Hey Kimi, over here!" Written all over them.

It turned out I was the one who had split away from the group, roaming off in a random direction after I lost sight of Renji.

"Damn it, why is it always me..." I signed and went to move in that general direction, but suddenly I felt an unnerving presence behind me. The hairs on my neck stood up and my survival instincts took over. In less than a second Ruby was cutting through the air behind me, my energy flowing freely from my veins into the blade to boost its power and speed causing the metal to adopt the faint white glow of my energy, but to my surprise was nothing there.

My heart racing, I flash stepped away to the highest point in the area, a metal water tower a few metres away, and looked down from its shadows but there was nothing there. No dummies, no classmates, no real hollows as the unfamiliar spiritual pressure would have suggestions. Not a single Soul.

"What the hell... Is someone there? ...Quit screwing with me!" I commanded but the night remained silent.

"Maybe it's just my nerves messing with my head..." I tried to assure myself.

Considering this was basically a free for all to show off what we had learned without fear of danger or punishment, I was more unnerved than I had been back in the forest the night of the raid.

I should have been having the time of my life, using all of the cool Kido I had learned and stacking up a score that would put Renji's efforts to shame. Instead, I was cowering in the shadow of a water cooler scared stiff by what was probably just the wind playing tricks on my mind.

"Screw this, I've gotta get back to the others!" I muttered turning back in the direction of my friends and racing ahead like my life depended on it.

I managed to find my way back without a problem. They were waiting at the rendezvous point near the sealed Senkaimon staring around for a sign of me.

"Kimi! Thank the Soul King you're okay! We've been so worried, what happened?" Momo said as I re-joined the group.

"I'm fine, we just got split up," I said making sure to give Renji a glare that made it clear that I was annoyed at him for getting carried away. "Are we done here?"

"Just waiting for a few more people," Kira said nodding towards Shuhei, Aoga and Kanisawa standing near the Senkaimon with their backs turned to us, all taking on their radios.

As we stood there waiting, that feeling of unease washed over me. Judging by the way that Shuhei was pacing in circles something seemed wrong.

"Dude, everything okay?"

"We've lost connection with the barrier unit and the gate unit; We should be reconnected in a few minutes, but I've sent for back up from home just in case something went wrong"

"But it hasn't gone wrong, everything is fine, they're just distracted," Kanisawa assured us, though it sounded more like she trying to convince herself.

Suddenly every one of our group froze as a wave of strange energy rippled over us like a gust of putrid wind, the same feeling I'd had while I was hunting alone. A shiver ran up my spine and I immediately unsheathed Ruby.

I spotted it a moment before it uncloaked itself. Its body was rippling in an opalescent, liquid-like texture in the exact same way that mine did when using my favourite camouflage Kido.

"LOOK OUT!" I bellowed at the top of my lungs, loud enough for the whole group to hear. Everybody scattered except for Kanisawa, whom my call was directed at.

The massive creature fully materialised and made a swift swipe for her. I could never have physically reached her in time, but instinctively I forced my energy to the surface and blasted it outward in the form of an Icy gale and blew her sideways out of its path.

She flew with a little too much force and smashed into the metal wall behind the hollow making it ring like a bell and slid down the surface until she lay in an unconscious slump on the ground. Sharp little icicles lay glinting in the light momentarily until they melted with almost no trace beside the thin cuts that tore up her uniform.

"Shit!" Shuhei cursed loudly staring up at the beast in horror.

"KIMI! You just attacked the Head Girl!" Momo told me in a panic as if I hadn't noticed.

"Yeah, well she can thank me for saving her later," I said adopting a combat stance ready to fight but Shuhei pulled me back by the shoulder.

"Everyone move now, get to safety. We'll handle this!" He called out pushing me towards my classmates, fleeing like panicked flies. Just like the last time, only my group were prepared to stand our ground and fight.

"We're helping you!" Kira told him decisively.

"I gave you an order, Izuru!"

"Sorry, but we don't take orders from idiots with a death wish," I informed him with a sickly sweet smile before darting forward alongside Renji to intercept another swipe of its claws.

"Sorry Boss, I'm with her on this one," Rukia shrugged.

"Seven of us stand more of a chance than two!" Momo told him joining us.

"Fine, whatever- But don't blame me when you get marked down for disobeying orders!"

"I don't think grades really matter anymore" Kira pointed out running forward to assist too.

"Aoga! Take Kana to safety and keep calling the other units, we'll hold the fort" Shuhei instructed.

The creature reared back on its muscular legs and bared down on us again. It took all of us to hold back its claws, but it gave Aoga enough time to swoop underneath it with surprising agility and scoop Kanisawa into his arms before taking off after the rest of the class.

My arms began to shake from the effort of holding it back but the others seemed reasonably sturdy, so I slipped out from under them and dashed forward, leaping onto its arm and running up onto its back.

"Murasaki, what the hell do you think you're doing!? Get back here now!"

"Brace yourselves!" I said ignoring Shuhei's order.

This worked once before with the fishing rod hollow, so I was ready to try it again. I balanced on the back of its head forcing my energy out again with a roar of effort. For the second time in less than two minutes, more than I had ever managed before today, my dense energy took the form of a thick white mist with glinting ice crystals forming all around me. I impaled Ruby into its thick green hide and the crystals surged forward, but they only bounced off its head like toothpicks. Twisting and turning the sword, I pushed more spirit energy outwards roaring with the effort and exertion. The hollow screamed a rattling cry and pulled away from my friends.

I couldn't possibly hold on while it writhed in pain. Luckily Ruby wasn't embedded too deeply and I managed to yank her out and land on a nearby rooftop.

"Did it do anything?!" I asked hopefully.

"No, it just looks more pissed off, good job!" Renji called up sarcastically, charging forward to attack is ankles while it was distracted, and the others followed suit.

"I don't think our swords are going to hurt it!" Momo called over its cries of pain.

"Maybe Kido then?" Rukia suggested.

"Only if we combine strength" Kira replied sounding departed. "Everyone ready?"

"No!" Renji complained but we ignored him and began reciting the incantation.

"Hado 31: Shakkaho Red Flame Canon!" We chanted blasting an assortment of different strength red beams of light and fireballs from our palms.

They hit the mark squarely in its face, except for Renji's which flew about three feet before fizzling out like a dud firework.

"See, I told you I wasn't ready!"

"Dude, even I miracle couldn't prepare you for Kido!" I reminded him.

"Did it work?!" Shuhei asked expectantly as the black smoke caused by the flames billowed away.

But when it didn't the hollow appeared looking no more than faintly disoriented and very pissed off. Instead of hurting it, we had only scorched the mask with black singe marks and no visible damage.

"Damn it, no good... And that was a perfect cast too!" Rukia cursed.

"Everyone retreat! Keep running until back up arrives!" Shuhei told us sounding terrified.

I looked over and realised that the idiot intended to save us and hold the damn thing off alone.

"Oh no you don't! You're not gonna get left behind to play the hero!" I snapped grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him away with all my strength, but he wouldn't budge.

He turned to me to argue for just a moment... One moment too long. The hollow, far more intelligent than it looked, took that moment to attack him from behind, gauging long marks into his skin and leaving long tears of bloody, shredded clothing behind. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees.

"NO! SHUHEI!" I screamed.

"GO! GO NOW AND SAVE YOURSELF!"

"Not without you, now hold on tight!" He said heaving his full body weight onto my shoulder and running as fast as I could.

The others were already running up ahead. Renji paused to look back and see how far we were, then realised that something was very wrong.

"Shuhei, what the-"

"What are you waiting for?! Keep moving!" I told him leaving no room for discussion.

Then I saw it. Over his head in the distance were more hollows just like the one we had managed to piss off, looming over the buildings like colossal ominous gargoyles.

"Shit!" I hissed hoping that they hadn't noticed so they didn't start panicking.

I looked up and realised that the shimmering, translucent barrier dome was no longer in the skies above us.

"That explains it!" I told Shuhei, trying to keep his attention on something other than the pain that must have been attacking his body just then.

"The communications went down, then the hollows came in- Something must have happened to the other units! Rukia! Go left up ahead!" I called to the front of the group, directing her down a short alleyway that led away from the largest hollows in the distance into a small loading bay around with large metal containers. It wasn't directly in the path of the biggest ones but it wasn't safe either.

Bad luck struck again. A smaller hollow stood at the end of the alley waiting for us. We turned back around and found the entrance blocked too. We were literally cornered.

Renji lurched forward and stabbed it in the stomach but it didn't die straight away.

"Fuuuck YOU!" I roared firing off a desperate incantation less Byakurai into the ugly things face that blew its head clean off.

"Keep moving!" Kira called ushering the girls forward.

We leapt over its disintegrating body and into the next area and found yet more of them. We were surrounded. Bigger hollows blocked all of the surrounding pathways while smaller hollows crowded every inch of ground in-between.

"Oh no... We're trapped" Momo whimpered.

"This is it..." Kira choked out.

"How are we supposed to get out of here?!" Renji asked frantically looking for a gap in their ranks.

We closed in, pressing against each other's backs so we had vision on all sides.

"Any bright ideas anyone?" I asked mainly directing the question at Kira and Shuhei, the two geniuses of the group.

"Kido doesn't work, our swords have no effect... Were doomed!" Kira said freaking out. He was shaking so hard he could barely grip his sword.

"No! There has to be a way, stay focused and keep looking!"

At my shoulder Shuhei stirred, pulling away from my stabilizing embrace.

"Dude, what are you doing!? Stop, you'll only open your wounds up more!"

"Like that matters if we die here… I have to do something... Before we all end up as hollow food..." He gasped out in obvious agony, his sword hanging limp in his right hand and left hand clamping down on one of the many gushing gashes on his left side.

"I don't have the authorization to use my Zanpakuto, but I think this classes as exceptional circumstances!" and without warning, he summoned up every last bit of strength he had and charged forward at the closing in enemies.

"NO! DONT!" We all screamed, breaking formation to charge forward and support him.

There was a blinding flash of light and for a moment I thought he had unleashed his Shikai. A narrow shaft of light appeared, shooting past us way overhead and through the largest hollows that Shuhei was headed for like an ethereal spear and it dissolved into the air with no effort.

The beam then swept in a wide arc across the skyline and the other hollows in the distance died too.

In another flash of movement, a figure in a white cloak that shone like it was spun from pure silver in the moonlight appeared next to us and cut down the small fries quicker than I could blink.

In a matter of seconds our ten minutes of terror was all over. Captain Aizen stood there illuminated with his back to the moon, smiling over at us as if this was merely a chance encounter in the school corridors.

My mind reeled and images of an almost identical scene overlapped with real life, only that serene smile change to one of murderous intent and the shining blade at his side now pointed at my heart as I looked up past him to the same full moon from a mysterious grassy forest floor. Two more shadowy figures moved behind Dream Aizen and he plunged his sword forward, then the dream- memory- whatever it was ended as abruptly as it had arrived.

I backed away in fear, bumping into Renji who steadied me by the shoulders and prevented me from running like my legs were telling me to.

I slipped behind him, hiding behind his sleeve like a frightened child.

"I apologise for taking so long. It seems your communications were delayed for some reason. You're safe now, don't worry." He told us smiling away as usual.

I wanted to run forward and attack him, or run away and escape him, or just we anywhere but near him.

We were alone here with him after being on the verge of slaughter at the hands of hundreds of hollows. Whatever his hidden agenda, he could easily slay us all on the spot, say he arrived too late to save us and blame it on the hollows. I could vividly imagine him doing just that, that's how much I trusted Sosuke Aizen.

Something felt wrong, It was far too convenient for him to be the one to come to our aid, but I had no evidence to prove that he was involved.

"Captain Aizen…" Momo sighed in relief and reverence, gazing up at him in awe. "Thank you for saving us!"

"My pleasure, Miss Hinamori" he smiled sweetly down at her, patting her head like she was his favourite puppy. He had her wrapped around his pinkie finger and it sickened me. I felt like I wanted to rip his hand off and slap him with it for touching our sweet, innocent, naïve Momo.

The others gave vague and shaky offers of gratitude too, but I stayed silent. Rukia hurried forward to help Shuhei up from the spot where he had collapsed after his target had been slain.

"My lieutenant should be waiting over at the gate. Let's get you out of here and have your wounds tended to." And just like that, he strolled away as if nothing had happened.

The others happily jogged forward to follow him but I hesitated, staying at the back behind Renji not to get too close to our 'Saviour'.

* * *

There she goes again, her actions interfering with the timeline for a second time.  
I was gonna use this as competition entry on World of Bleach's discord channel (shoutout! You guys should check it out, they're on facebook too, they do RP's and original character workshops and stuff) but just as I was going to submit I accidentally deleted it and had to start over so it took me forever.  
Hope you likey, feel free to drop a review with feedback or even suggestions, I'm always open to ideas!


	41. The Festival

Chapter 42 - The Festival 

Our arrival back through the Senkaimon brought lots of noise and confusion. I hadn't been expecting there to be dense crowds of people closing in as we stepped out of the bizarre precipice world onto the solid golden tiles that formed the roof of the academy building where this nightmare had started.

The glaring sunlight blinded me after the pressing darkness I had become accustomed to over the past hour, and the curious chatter of the uninvited crowd made my ears ring like being bombarded by a thousand buzzing wasps. I wasn't usually claustrophobic, but I felt very cornered beneath so many prying eyes.

"We need to get out of here..." I said taking hold of Shuhei's other arm around my shoulder to help Rukia support him before he could drop to the floor from blood loss weakness. He looked so pale and his grey eyes appeared to be shifting in and out of focus.

I wasn't sure whether it was the presence of Aizen, the Academy's most hands-on and beloved Captain, that had drawn the crowds to our spot, or the news that something terrible had happened.

"Please get back to your classes. These students need medical attention and time to rest." He ordered loudly with far more authority in his tone than I'd heard in our previous encounters.

The crowd grumbled disappointedly and started to disperse, but many held back trying to get a good glimpse at us.

I felt like I wanted to use my camouflage Kido to hide and slip away from the noise and attention, but I couldn't leave my friends at a time like this. I was quite happy with the attention when I was disguised as Jade, but as myself it made me feel uncomfortable at the best of times, let alone when we were torn up, covered in blood and traumatised by the horrific hollow encounter.

I gritted my teeth, forcing myself not to freak out and followed Aizen and the others, still holding Shuhei up as he limped along with Rukia.

I heard vague whispers of "Head Boy", "Hollow Attack" and "Fatalities" from the onlookers who were already passing along the rumours of the incident. My heart dropped to my toes. Fatalities? I hoped they didn't mean Kanisawa, especially as it was my effort to save her that had injured her in the first place.

That sickening thought made my head spin and I picked up my pace to get to the medical centre faster and make sure no more lives were lost.

* * *

A relief team from Squad Four awaited us at the medical centre to assist the nurses and debrief us. Other students from our class were leaving after being examined just as we arrived. None looked the least bit injured, only a little shaken. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from telling them to man up. They looked more scared then we did, and not a single one of them even tried to stay and fight.

 ** _How are people like that ever to become part of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads if they run from danger?_** I wondered furiously.

Each of us was taken into an examination room to get checked over and then debriefed separately.

Thankfully the blood on my uniform wasn't my own, so after they check my very few cuts and grazes they sat me down and questioned me about the incident. It felt more like an interrogation as if they were weighing my every word and I had a distinct feeling that they would compare everyone's stories to make sure they matched. But I had nothing to hide. I tried my best to remember everything through the rush of adrenaline that had fuelled me. It was hard to remember my exact actions, but I was able to describe my feelings of dread and desperation and what I had done to try and save everyone. They seemed satisfied with my answers and dismissed me without any explanations.

I bristled at the obvious secrecy.

"Is that? Aren't you going to tell me what actually happened out there? Why I nearly got turned into hollow meat?"

"Unfortunately, we are not at liberty to disclose information related to open investigations until after all proceedings are completed and the results published." Was the only answer I got.

"What about the Head Girl? Can you at least tell me if she's okay?" I tried but was met with the same rehearsed nope. No matter what I tried I couldn't get any more information about the incident from anyone, so I left feeling worse now than I had before being examined. The butterflies in my stomach thrashed around desperate to break free and I felt nauseous.

Had it been a mistake to try to help Kanisawa? Had my attempt to save her only resulted in her death or extreme injury at my hands instead of the hollow's? Was I going to be punished even if my intentions had been good?

I sat in the waiting room mulling the over the prospects of my impending punishment as I waited for my friends for what felt like hours. I was so distracted that I barely noticed Aoga sit on the chair next to me.

"You did everything you could," he grunted putting a sturdy hand on my shoulder.

"It's not enough. If I was stronger I could have destroyed them instead of letting us get cornered like livestock" I said clenching my fist's harder. "If only I had an awakened Zanpakuto… I could have done so much more. Kido is useless to me in those situations!"

"You're just a first-year and you can do more than many of your seniors," he offered in an attempt console me.

"But I'm just Not. Good. Enough!" I stomped my foot on each word in frustration.

Aoga had a Zanpakuto already, though I had only gotten a brief glimpse of its sealed form during the exam. He couldn't possibly understand the frustration of being forced into these situations with the equivalent of a toothpick for a weapon when I knew I was capable of so much more if only I had the equipment and advanced training to do it. I desperately wanted to skip right to the end of my education where I might actually be worth something.

Just then I heard footsteps from the next corridor and looked up to see my friends approaching, all looking unharmed. For just a moment my worries washed away and I sprung up to meet them, pulling all four into the widest hug I could manage but my little arms could only barely reach around Renji and Kira.

"You're all okay, right? You guys did great back there, I'm so proud of you!" I said squeezing them.

"Were fine-" Renji wheezed wriggling out of my grip.

"You too Kimi!" Momo said holding me at arm's length to look for any injuries like a concerned Sister. "You were amazing out there! Iv never seen anyone fight like that!"

"Agreed. I'm pretty sure your spiritual pressure is getting colder though, I'm surprised those hollows didn't freeze to death" Kira laughed.

"You were so fast and you didn't panic at all… you were just…" Rukia said, seemingly lost for words.

"Guys… It was nothing. I didn't know what else to do" I said blushing slightly at their obvious pride in my abilities.

"Don't get big-headed, you were only kinda cool" Renji shrugged offering me a high five, but just as I reached his hand he pulled it back up out of my reach.

"Bully!" I pouted kicking his ankle instead.

"Yeah, you pulled off some nifty tricks back there," another voice added from behind us.

Shuhei was coming out of an examination room at the end of the hall, taking tentative steps with the aid of crutches and dressed in a brand new uniform that was open loosely at the front to show the bandages wrapped tightly around his body. He had been the first to be seen due to his critical condition and the last to leave, but at least he didn't look pale as a ghost anymore.

"Shuhei! Thank the Soul King you're alright!" I smiled widely in relief. I wanted to hug him too, but I knew it would only hurt his wounds.

"You had us worried there, going all gung-ho like that!" Kira told him disapprovingly but he waved him away.

Shuhei waved him off. "I'm fine, thanks to Kimi. I'm gonna have a nice big scar once it's healed, but at least the nurses stopped the bleeding before it was too late"

I lowered my head in shame. "That's not true at all… It's my fault you got hurt… I distracted you when the hollow was attacking. If it wasn't for me you would have-"

"Probably been in far worse condition" he interrupted. "Because you had the level-headed common sense to pull me away instead of letting me go solo and get destroyed. Quit beating yourself up already. Like Aoga said, you did far more than anyone else of your level could dream of- No offence you guys" he added to the others.

"None taken." they all muttered.

I looked up and he ruffled my hair with a grimace. "We're all alive, lighten up a little"

"If you say so… Wait," I said realising what he was saying. "Does that mean Kanisawa is okay too?! I couldn't get a nugget out of the relief officers, they're all tight-lipped"

"She'll be fine too. She suffered so major head trauma but Aoga got her out of there in enough time for the Squad Four Captain to see her personally. After a few days healing and rest she should be right as rain."

I had the vivid image of Captain Unohana's serene, calming smile and the memory of her helping me when I was a lost and confused child and I knew that Kanisawa would be in expert hands. I let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear!" Rukia said brightly nudging me in the shoulder. "See, no need to worry now"

"But again, it's my fault she's in that condition… I'm gonna be in so much trouble when she gets back!" I sighed stressfully pulling my hands through my loosely flowing hair. I'd lost my black ribbon during the attack at some point and now my windswept maine hung down my back looking as much a mess as my brain felt.

"Hey, stop stressing out. You need to relax" Renji said pushing me down into the chair beside me with a flick of his wrist. I didn't even argue. The butterflies were punching wholes through my stomach at the thought of being expelled for attempted murder.

Shuhei laughed. "Yeaaahh- Not gonna happen. No one will blink an eyelid at what you did. I have no doubt she would be dead if you didn't push her out of the way. A big bad headache is a small price to pay for someone saving your life."

"I hope so… I really didn't mean to hurt her. Oh- and what about your classmates? Why did the barrier go down in the first place?"

Now Shuhei and Aoga both bowed their heads. "It seems they were killed in action while trying to fight off the hollows on the outside of the barrier. They must have thought they could take them but they couldn't... The hollows sensed all of the tasty spiritual pressures inside the barrier, killed off the defence team and slipped in once the barrier was down..."

We all fell silent letting the tragedy sink in for a moment. "How many survivors?" I asked quietly.

"The three of us and the students who were station externally or not taking part in the exam. More than half of the sixth years were wiped out."

"I'm so sorry Shuhei..." Momo said with her hands pressed over her mouth in horror. Rukia squeezed her shoulder firmly looked sadly at the ground too.

"Man, that's rough," Renji said massaging the back of his neck with a deep frown.

Shuhei shrugged. "There's nothing we could have done. It was a bad decision to engage them and they paid the ultimate price." I was quite surprised to hear such a cold, rational response from him but in the end, as horrible as it sounded, he was right. What they did was a literal death sentence, so few unqualified students engaging so many vicious, soul hungry hollows like that without backup. They should have retreated and sounded the alarm for the Soul Reapers to come in and clean up. That way no one would have died.

"Just promise me that you'll stay out of trouble from now on, okay? That goes for all of you not, just little miss trouble-maker. We don't need any more accidents around here"

The others gave silent regretful nods but I shook my head. "I'll try but trouble just seems to find me and there's not much I can do to stop it. I can barely fight back without a real Zanpakuto... I'm useless..." I sulked bitterly.

"Pft, useless she says" Renji snarked rolling his eyes.

"You were more useful than anyone else! You just seemed to know what to do back there, you were so calm and logically while the rest of us panicked" Momo said.

"Honestly, I don't know many first years that can manifest their energy into a physical elemental form either. That some high-end stuff. If you keep training, you'll be at the top of your class by the time you graduate, but power doesn't come overnight. You need to be patient." Shuhei said watching me carefully as if examining me but I looked away feeling embarrassed at the attention.

Rukia snorted in disbelief. "Kimi, patient? Two words that do not work in the same sentence. You're asking way too much."

I sighed heavily. "It sucks, but he's right. I don't have the time to wait, especially if these things keep on happening around me. I need to be able to fend off anything that comes at me. I mean, three times in like six months! It's just ridiculous how trouble follows me!" I complained. My momentary slip up went unnoticed by my friends, but Shuhei's eyes seemed to hone in on my icy blues. He bore a hole into me as if trying to read my mind and a very slight smile tugged on the corners of his lips.

"Uh- twice, I mean." I tried to correct casually. He was my close friend, but after seeing how desperate he had been when searching for the culprit of the raid intrusion, I wouldn't be surprised if he had me brought in for investigation even though the case had been dropped months ago.

"Well, we can't just sit here brooding about gloomy stuff all day, let's get out of here" Rukia pipped up trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"Yeah, I'm starving, let's go get lunch" Renji agreed leading the way.

* * *

"No more classes for you guys then," Kira said with a pointed glance at Shuhei's crutches as we wandered slowly to the dining hall, turning the subject away from gloomy stuff before I could have another anxiety attack.

He shook his head. "We've finished school anyway, that was our final exam. Now we get to relax until our graduation unless we want to train of course, but I've been ordered to rest," he said nodding to his obvious injuries.

"You better rest! If we find out you've been moving around-" Rukia threatened, punching her fist into her other palm.

"You don't need to tell me twice," he shrugged. "This hurts like hell-"

Once again the school was abuzz with rumours of the most recent hollow attack and how my friends and I were there to save the day once again. Whispers and stares followed us through the dining hall and to our seats, and even after that day people still talked about the incident as if he had been some amazing show that they all regretted not being able to see with their own eyes.

The student who had been in my class all got a little bit of the reflected glory due to being first-hand witnesses who were able to recount the events to their friends, but I really wasn't looking for glory at all.

I truthfully told anyone that asked that I just somehow always seemed to get caught up in shitty situations, but somehow always came out alive through sheer luck and willpower to survive. I wasn't trying to be a hero or anything. I just did what needed to be done to survive.

Kanisawa was still with Squad Four receiving treatment for the next few days and none of us had a clue how she was doing. The academy was keeping a very tight lid on the details while everything was being investigated for signs of foul play, seeing as it had resulted in so many fatalities. Even Shuhei, only limping around on one crutch by then, had no information for us at all. So, we continued school as normal and I waited nervously to see if my actions would have any repercussions for almost two weeks.

Then one day, as we were descending the stairs from our apartment heading out to morning classes we spotted a crowd blocking the door and joined the back to try and see what was going on.

"Excuse me, pardon me, can we get through please?" Momo asked politely squeezing in amongst the crowd try and get to the entrance doors. I pinched the back of her uniform so not too lose her and followed close behind and Rukia did the same to me, but Momo stopped when she reached the middle of the crowd instead of continuing on to the doors.

"Head Girl! You're back!" I heard her yelp in surprise.

I forcefully pushed through to the centre of the scrum and saw Kanisawa standing there with Shuhei and some of her girl friend's, heavily bandaged around the head and leaning of crutches but looking very much alive.

"Head Girl-!" I gasped in surprise.

She turned to me and out of habit I flinched like I normally would when coming into contact with her, expecting one of her stern lectures.

Instead, to my dismay, she smiled brightly- A real, sincere smile... Directed at me, The bane of her school career. I recoiled in shock at the friendly reaction.

"Good Morning, Hinamori, Murasaki, Abarai. Good to see you're well"

"I-but- You-" I stuttered, caught off guard. "What about you!? Are you okay?! I was really worried after what happened, I'm sorry I attacked you but I thought you were going to get hit by the hollow so I tried to push you away. I didn't mean to hurt you!" I blurted out, desperately trying to justify my actions.

She smiled again and began to laugh. "On the contrary, Murasaki, you're the reason I'm alive. They explained what happened and showed me the review footage on the exam area's surveillance that is usually used to score the students. The damage from your attack was far less than what would have happened to me if I was standing there a moment longer. You pushed me out of harm's way, and for that, I owe you my life. You have my eternal gratitude."

I blushed bright red at the compliment especially in front of all these people, drinking in the scene as if they were watching a fascinating theatre show.

This was meeting that most of the school had been waiting for ever since it came out that I was the reason for her injury. They were all expecting chaos, arguing, fighting… me being dragged away into custody- The complete opposite of what was actually happening. Everyone watched silently looking as stunned as I felt.

"Thank you... It was nothing really, I just went on autopilot"

"That just proves that you have a natural instinct for helping people, that's nothing to be ashamed of. And just so you know, all of you got top marks for your efforts. They wanted to demerit you for recklessness, but I put my foot down... Not literally, that would hurt" she added wiggling around her foot in its thick white cast.

It seemed a concussion hadn't been her only injury which I felt terrible for, but seeing her like this and receiving a welcoming reaction made the butterflies in my stomach flutter away.

I glanced at the girls my mouth open in stunned silence. The seniors had always stood against my need to protect people from harm so strongly, always citing school rules and the law... But as soon as it was them on the receiving end of the attacks, I was treated like a hero. And to add to my confusion, Kanisawa just made a joke!

"Thank you!" All three of us chimed brightly.

"Murasaki- Look. All this time I thought you were just a rebellious troublemaker. Now I see that you're just an ambitious individual with an immense amount of talent. I apologize for being so hard on you." She said with a small bow of her head. "I don't want to graduate having you think that I'm an ungrateful witch, so how about we start over?" She held out her hand for me to shake. "Hi, I'm Kanadeko Kanisawa, nice to meet you"

I stared at her hand like it was an alien that had crash-landed on my balcony for a moment, then smiled and took it. "I'm Kimiko Murasaki, I hope we can get along in the future"

After Kanisawa had returned and settled in, the funerals took place. Classes were cancelled for the day and everyone turned out to pay their respects.

* * *

The fallen student's golden caskets with the academy logo emblazoned on the sides were marched in a procession from the academy grounds to the Seireitei via a giant gate embedded in the massive Seki Seki wall that separated us from the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. I had never even realised that this was a gate until now, the seam was completely invisible until the doors creaked open seemly of their own volition with a ground-shaking tremble.

I wondered if there was any way of scaling it or even slipping under it undetected on one of my midnight field trips. Now that I knew it was there, my curiosity would no doubt get the better of me someday. I made a mental note to do some research on security measures at the library before attempting it, just in case it was armed in some way.

Just then the procession approached, bringing my law-breaking brainstorm to a temporary end. Everyone on campus lined the road, all wearing black clothing for the sombre occasion. I left my hair hanging down seeing as the only ribbon I had to tie it up with was bright teal blue and it seemed unsuitable for the occasion.

The sky matched the tears that fell from many of the student's eyes, and even I had to fight not to get emotional. Some of the fallen students had been acquaintances that I had worked with at the music club. Good, strong, reliable people with long and bright futures ahead of them. All snuffed out because of those vile, disgusting monstrosities. An unwilling part of me had to admit that it could have just as easily been us in those coffins if Aizen hadn't have intervened. My overactive imagination conjured up images of how different this day would have been if he hadn't jumped in and killed them all. Shuhei, Rukia, Momo, Kira, Renji... Me- All gone. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists as anger rose within me.

The tragedy only brought my hatred of the hollows species to the surface. I felt like I wanted to go out there and purge them from existence so that no more lives- Spirit, Humans, Soul Reaper- could be lost ever again. No one deserved a fate like that.

I swore to myself once again that when I finally had the capability, I would do everything in my power to eradicate them from the face of the earth.

On the other side of the gate, the Seireitei street beyond was also lined with Soul Reapers who had come to pay their respects. The rain was coming down in heavy sheets as the procession, lead by Shuhei and Kanisawa who were still walking with crutches, passed by and we bowed our heads. They were slowly followed by who I assumed must be some of the student's families- Some glassy-eyed with vague expressions, some openly mourning- All saying goodbye for one last time as they moved on to the Seireitei's Cemetery of the Fallen, treated like real soldiers as they would have been in just a few weeks time.

Once they had passed we hurried to get inside out of the torrential rain even though we were already completely drenched.

The school seemed very subdued for the rest of the day. Even the memorial party in the performance hall was quiet with people choosing it to stand around and talk about their lost friends instead of partying. The table laid with food and beverages beneath the stage the same as the Welcoming party lay completely untouched and the sombre music was turned down low. Nothing upbeat like the usual parties.

I couldn't stand the gloomy atmosphere anymore. We shouldn't have been sitting around mopping, we should have been celebrating their bravery and partying as they would have wanted us to, but no one else had it in them. So we said goodbye the Shuhei, Kanisawa and Aoga and left to find something less depressing to do with our day off.

* * *

With just two weeks left until the graduation ceremony, we continued rehearsing for our planned end of the night concert, intending to play our first ever full setlist. Since the first concert, we had come up with another five songs bringing the total to six and enough hold a small show that would seem so much bigger with our newly upgraded lighting, costumes and stage effects.

Aside from that, I had my own little project going on as a surprise thank you to all of the surviving sixth years who made my first year something to remember. Just a little goodbye and good luck song.

Shuhei came in to see how we were doing one day, being completely free from studies for the last few weeks of his school life he was able up to stop by whenever he wanted.

He came with worrying news that the ceremony had been given official festival status and had been given the go-ahead to take place on the field outside of my bedroom window instead of the lecture theatre where our entrance exam had been held.

"What do you mean by festival exactly?" I asked bewildered.

"You know what a festival is- Partying, food, booths with games and fun activities- and on top of that the clubs are putting on all sorts of shows, performances, contests, competitions, tournaments- The works. The only difference is that the whole of the Seiretei is invited, not just students! It's gonna be one hell of a day" Shuhei explained, brimming with enthusiasm.

"And guess what made them come to that decision" Aoga grunted.

"Well, if there will be Soul Reapers there they will surely be scouting, right?" Rukia asked.

"Ooohh I never thought of that!" Momo said thoughtfully. "What if the Captains come to watch some of the club events!? That's so exciting but scary!"

"Well, that's very true. They will definitely be sending out talent scouts, but the reason that they made it into an open festival is you three." Shuhei told us unexpectedly.

"What?!" We all squeaked recoiling in surprise.

"Us? What did we do?!"

"Word got out that Emerald Eclipse was putting on a concert and let's just say that you've got more than a few fans in the Seireitei. The guest list currently exceeds 60,000 and counting."

I nearly died on the spot.

"That many people?!" Momo gasped "Surely not!"

"It's true. There are currently at least ten Captains and Lieutenants on the guest list." Aoga added and I felt like I wanted to run and hide. Immediately my first problem was the fact that a Captain and a handful of other Soul Reapers had been headhunting me for breaking the law not so long ago and could potentially recognise me as I walked around in the open, unable to be disguised as Jade all day long; Which wasn't a stretch given how much spotlight I had gotten recently. The school paper had reported on my efforts in the World of the Living attack and I knew that the paper often ended up in the Seireitei. If any of those Soul Reapers from the forest raid read information about my "Unusual abilities" they may be able to put two and two together and come for me.

"I don't like this…" I said fidgeting nervously without voicing my private concerns.

"Relax, it'll be fun. Your clubs will be due to draft you in for the graduation games too I suspect."

"Who is on the list of club games?" Rukia asked curiously.

"Well, I know for sure that the flower arranging club has Captain Unohana of Squad Four as a guest judge to decide the winner. They were at the top of the planning list. There will be Hakuda, Kido and Zanjutsu tournaments for sure, as well as things like Archery, Kendo and Sports. I think every club is organising some sort of show though only a few have theirs fully planned so far."

My heart bounced at the idea of Sports and Zanjustu. "What about the Track Club? Do you think they will hold a race?!"

He nodded. "I'm sure the coach's name was on the registry list. No doubt you'll be at the top of the team, Superstar" he grinned. "Oh, and you know how I mentioned food? The local restaurants in town are setting up stalls… and there will be alcohol." He added as if he needed to bribe us any more.

I looked from Rukia to Momo and back again with a mischievous grin. Now the excitement was overwriting my worry. I thought back to when Kira once told me that recruiters often observed clubs that demonstrated talents they required for their new squad members. If there were Squad Two recruiters maybe they would see how fast I was on the track put my name down for recruitment after my own graduation… though five years was a long time to wait so that seemed unlikely.

"This is gonna be something else." I decided.

Over the next few days, preparations for the biggest event in the academy's history were in full swing and even the teachers seemed distracted. Some of the more uptight staff like my history teacher were more concerned about having their classrooms in perfectly clean and organized condition as well as brushing up on basic classroom etiquette, like trying and failing to make me keep my eyes on the teacher at all times instead of doodling in my notebook for the full hour, seeing as there would be highly influential people on campus who may take the opportunity to view classes as part of indirect recruitment.

Others, like my Hoho/Track Coach, were super excited and killing the time until the festival with fun lessons that focuses on preparing us for the events.

It turned out the Coach had indeed applied to host an event in the festival: A half-day sports contest that would firstly showcase his best students followed by a free-for-all competition that faculty and Soul Reapers would be invited to apply for later on.

Naturally, It didn't take long for him to choose me as the star runner for his team thanks to my speed, endurance, energy, and dedication which most of my teammates lacked. The rest of the first years were like snails so a handful of them were chosen as my back-ups in case of any unfortunate but highly likely injuries.

The coach started putting me through my paces to make sure I was fully prepared to take on all of the events and I was totally up for the challenge. The one thing that pushed me through the fear of getting tired too soon and the inevitable physical aching at the end of the races, was the thought that maybe someone from a squad would see me and be impressed enough write my name down on their list.

So, I jumped in headfirst and agreed to take on all of the dash, sprint, long-distance and jump challenges on behalf of the first-year students, as well as the mixed year races and the relay.

I just hoped I would be able to stand up straight for the concert we were holding at the end of the night.

Even in Kido and Zanjutsu, the more talented students were getting more attention while the others kinda got shoved in a corner to do their own thing until the event was over.

Renji and I had no choice but to get landed in each others company once again while Rukia, Momo and Kira trained to compete in the long-distance Kido shooting competitions. Though this time Madame Onigei had the sense to check that we weren't burning the school down or torturing each other every so often.

Zanjustu surprised me. I hadn't been expecting for Dao so practically beg me to represent the first years in the girls Zanjutsu tournament, seeing as he still held a grudge against me. But he seemed desperate. Momo, Rukia and most of the other girls in your year were likely to get disarmed with the first few moves so I was really the only option. At first, I explained that I was signed up for the sports challenges already but he kept on trying to convince me, eventually winning me over with the potential idea that I might be able to face off with Renji in front of all hundreds of spectators if we both made it far enough.

There was no getting away from it once he sparked my interest. Luckily Zanjustu was due to finish an hour before the track races started which would give me enough time to rest, so I agreed to go with the flow.

Day after day, the usually pristine grounds outside of my window turned from glistening water and rolling fields to a busy construction site with the frame of a wooden stadium and its tall bleachers being quickly built on the biggest empty plot of land on the other side of the lake in order to utilize the already existing race track. Closer to home, small tents and wooden shacks were being erected in the sort of small village starting below my window and spreading all the way to the lake edge and forest tree line. After a few days, there were so many of them that "the-powers-that-be" had to step in to stop them from spreading up the path into the student village. As much as I would love to have an all you can eat buffet stand outside the Emerald's front entrance, I could see why it would be a bit of a problem. It was already cramped enough around the student village with hundreds of kids living in close quarters without invasive festival stands.

It was truly shaping up to be a big occasion and to get the works done in time the Academy started to recruit idle, eventless students to pull their weight and put some work in if they weren't going to be training. Even though Renji and Kira were enrolling into Zanjustu and Kendo, they were soon whisked away by Shuhei himself to stop them lazing around after their hour-long training sessions every evening- Which sorted out the problem of having to sneak away to practise our songs.

The electric atmosphere that led up to our little concerts was nothing compared to this. This time everyone and their dog was involved and even the majority of the teachers were getting in on the team spirit, sporting the bright golden yellow T-shirts that read: "Go-Go Shino-o!", our new school chant, that the fashion club had decided to mass-produce and sell to raise funds for a fashion show. The club leader had a approached us a few days to before ask if they could model our old stage costumes in a fashion show during the festival and even create some of our conceptual designs that had never been used and we had happily agreed. Beside that- banners, posters, streamers, ribbons, clusters of balloons and other encouraging decoration were popping up all over campus and none of the faculty had the heart deem them as vandalism and have them removed; Instead they were sometimes seen to be sneakily adjusting the decoration and rearranging them so more could be added.

For the first time ever, my morning run wasn't on a silent, sleepy campus with only me, myself and I. Many excited students had risen earlier than me to do last-minute training or preparations, even if it was to vandalise their dorm building with yellow decorations in time for the start of the events just after breakfast.

I saw a group of girls running towards the west of campus taking about new arrivals and I followed them to find out what was going on.

I had been expecting the Soul Reapers to arrive via the front entrance which was basically the scenic route, having them leave the city and go around the district to reach the academy. Instead, more sensibly, it seemed they were arriving via the Seki Seki gate that linked the Campus with the Seireitei which we had only found out about during the sixth year funerals a few weeks ago.

I leapt up on top of the high golden roof of the academy's main building and sat behind one of the golden lion statues on the corner, hoping that I was concealed enough for no one to notice me and tell me to get down. Below me, black carriages were already coming in a steady streamed and either stopping in front of the main building entrance or continuing past into the library courtyard just down the road where there was enough space for them to park for a few minutes without causing a traffic jam.

Security seemed reasonably tight with rows of guards lining the paths and roads, but I didn't see much point in them being there. Soul Reapers we surely powerful enough to defend themselves in the doubtful event of an attack so the guards were probably for intimidation purposes to stop students stepping out of line.

Not surprisingly a large, shiny black carriage with a roof pulled up at the curb outside of the main building shortly after I arrived and out climbed Captains and Lieutenants... Six of them.

My heart dropped at first face that alighted, Aizen, shortly followed by his creepy looking snake-eyed, silver-haired Lieutenant and a bunch more in their wake whom I'd never seen before.

The Captain at the back was tall with dark skin, dark dreadlocked hair and white tinted shades that looked more likely to hinder his vision than help it. Then I realised that he must be the blind one that I'd read about in classes.

Thankfully no one was around to berate me for staring at him. I zoned out and trying to understand how he could be moving so well unaided when he was blind. He even found the step to the curb without assistance and climbed the few stone steps to the doorway without taking the handrail. I knew he must have been very strong and very talented to do basic things like that.

I had nothing better to do for a few more hours and I'd been practising my next performance to death in my free time, so I went to get breakfast then came back to observe the arrivals some more as I ate a couple of chocolate twists.

One by one more carriage pulled up and more and more Soul Reapers entered our school. More captains arrived, too the most notable one being Unohana who I'd met a few times before and her lieutenant, Isane, who often taught our Kaido healing classes.

After a while of observing the busy road below, just as I was considering heading back home, another large carriage pulled up to the curb. First out was the familiar young woman I had fought with the night of the forest raid- Miyako, the one that had saved me from being hunted down for my intrusion in gratitude for saving her life. I recognised her immediately even in such different lighting. Her hair was a dark slate colour and tied in the same half knot as before. At her side was her Zanpakuto. In this light I caught a better view of it: Standard Katana length with a dark Rosewood coloured sheath and a pale pink braid along the handle. The bronze guard twisted outwards like two thick, entwined vines. She still carried herself with such pride and grace, back straight, head high but not in an arrogant way.

Intrigued, I lay down flat and hung my head over the edge of the roof to get a closer look as the rest of the occupants descended one by one.

The second person I didn't recognise: Another young woman but much taller. Unlike Miyako, she carried herself with a haughty, arrogant confidence that completely contrasted with Miyako's elegance. She had shoulder-length, messy black hair with a black and red bandana tied behind her ears, a long billowing skirt that was cut up one side to reveal one long, lean leg and her massive chest that was covered by a piece of fabric that could barely be called a waistcoat, let alone a uniform shirt; It was more like a bandana too, just barely keeping her contained and showing her slim but curvy waist.

Tied into the red cloth belt holding up her skirt was a long Katana with a black sheath that had patterns of golden flower-like blooms inlaid in metallic material and a bright red braid snaking along the handle. The golden guard was set with two red gemstones at either end. A beautiful sword even from this distance. She stepped down and stood beside Miyako looking impatient for the others to alight.

I'd never seen anyone wear a uniform like this, It was so customized that it could barely be considered as formal attire. In a way, that kind of gave me hope that one day perhaps I would be able to ditch the long Hakama trousers of standard-issue clothing and wear less restricting shorts instead.

Next came the one person I had been hoping to see for a very long time: Kaien Shiba. He looked exactly the same as I remembered him. The same messy black hair trailed down the nape of his neck and the same kind but alert blue-grey eyes glanced around at the academy fondly. The sword as his waist looked almost Identical to the other woman's though his had patterns of deep blue almost like splashes of water, a dark blue braid and sapphire gemstones.

The badge tied to his upper arm made a lot more sense to me now that I was in training and understood more about rankings. Kaien was the second in command of whichever squad he belonged to. Now that he stood next to the other woman it became apparent that they were related and I assumed she must be his Sister or perhaps his Aunt. She didn't look old enough to be his mother, but they had the same hair and eyes and almost the same strong jaw.

My heart bounced to my mouth and I fought the urge to run to him and thank him for all the help that had got me here. I knew that would probably embarrass him in front of so many people. Maybe if he met him during the contest at some point I would say hello.

After Kaien another young woman climbed out, this time clearly not a relation. She had short shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, a short pink scarf tied around her neck and also had a lieutenant's badge on her arm, but otherwise, her uniform was pretty basic beside the very lowcut neckline. She stood on the other side of the carriage door facing Kaien.

Next came a Captain that I didn't recognise. He was tall and with very broad shoulders and looked quite well built. Not stocky, but not overly muscled either. His hair was also black and seemed to stand again the rules of gravity. He had a little bit of neatly trimmed face-fuzz and more tanned skin that the other two, who were clearly related to him.

He wore his Captain's Haori like a cape rather than a coat, attached to the shoulder fabric of his basic Soul Reaper uniform and hanging down to flow loosely in the breeze. He stood aside and held out a hand to help the last person down from the carriage: Another Captain who wore his uniform normally. A frail-looking old man with long silver hair that fell down his back from a low ponytail. He didn't look old in the face, not even middle-aged, he just looked... Tired.

He accepted the other Captain's and the young blonde girl's hands to climb down and immediately walked to the stair rail at the entrance steps to rest and support himself.

I found this odd. Why would someone that was so obviously frail be a Captain? I had the strong feeling that if we were suddenly attacked he would keel over from shock, let alone be able to draw the sword that was hiding beneath his cloak.

Just then a pair of Blue and white-uniformed male students exited the building to greet the group and I recognised them as Shuhei and his friend Ganju. I now had a no doubt that Kaien, the busty woman, the Captain and Ganju were all of the same family. Their resemblance was uncanny though Ganju's broad build was closer to that of the Captain's than Kaien's.

He nodded politely to his family, moved forward to shake the sickly Captain's hand. The woman took offence at only being spared a glance and suddenly darted forward, pulling Ganju into a suffocating, playful nuggie attack that made him yell in pain as she drilled her knuckles into his scalp. It was hard to tell what they were saying from up on the roof but I vaguely heard "Is that any way to treat your big Sis?! HUH?!" and after much whining she released him.

Once the group finished their greetings and disappeared indoors I rushed down to see if I could just get a passing glance of them up close by pretending to be casually travelling through the building, but they had vanished by the time I made it to the entrance hall.

I kicked myself for not being quicker, but there was no doubt I would see them again soon enough.

I headed back home to shower and wake the girls but I returned to find them all washed, dressed and raring to go like the rest of the school… Along with a pair of uninvited guests.

"Come on, let's just go already before my stomach eats itself" I heard Renji complain as I entered our apartment.

"Ah, here she is! Told you she wouldn't be much longer!" Momo cheered hopping down from the kitchen counter where she had been kicking her legs restlessly.

"About freakin' time, I'm busting a gut over here!"

Renji wore his usual uniform, but Kira was wearing a dark navy Kendo training set with his padded protective gear sitting on the arm of the chair beside him ready to start the tournament even though we had ages yet.

"It's a shame that iv already had breakfast then, huh? You sat there suffering for no reason" I taunted with a sly smirk.

"I knew it! We should have just ditched her"

"Have you two really got nothing better to do than sit around getting in our way?"

Renji was about to retaliate but Rukia cut him off. "Any interesting news?"

"Yep. Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Bad, get it out of the way first." Momo decided with a gesture like waving away a bad smell.

"Well, the stand that caught fire last night was a barbeque stall…" I said pausing regretfully.

"No!" they all gasped in horror.

"Aw, that sucks! I was looking forward to those marinaded ribs!" Rukia complained.

"The good news is that the fire also took out the circus tent next to it!" I said brightly.

Everyone except Momo cheered. "I just hope the animals made it out okay…"

"That was just a rumour, there were no animals. Only nightmare fuel clowns and crappy acrobatic stunts that I could pull off in my sleep. The fire did everyone a favour, trust me"

"That's not so bad then I guess" she sighed.

"In even more good news: The pit below your room is the Apple bobbing game which they're just filling with water now, so we can have some fun with that later," I told Rukia and she beamed brightly too. "Also, dinner isn't an issue as the stand next to the apple bobbing just happens to be our favourite Ramen shop" I grinned and they practically jumped out of their seats with excitement.

We had all been craving good warm Ramen and Miso soup during these fast-approaching winter months but everyone had been so busy with school that shopping trips had become few and far between unless we were desperate for school supplies, and even then not everyone could make it so group day trips were a thing of the past.

I had been out trying to identify what every stand was on morning jog's and only now were they putting up their signage. We had been desperately hoping that the world's greatest Ramen shop would set up camp and the Soul King had heard our prayers.

"You're lucky you came with good news, I was tempted to throw you in the apple bobbing pool from your balcony" Renji grumbled.

"Try it and see what happens to you! I already know that you suck at swimming!" I threatened and he backed down, probably imagining me holding his head under the water to see how long he would last.

"Yeah, I thought so." I growled before turning back to the girls."In other news- everyone and their dog has just started pouring onto campus through the Western Seki Seki gate. We won't be able to move for Soul Reapers within the next hour"

"So many people... Was Shuhei's estimate even close?" Momo asked looking concerned.

I shrugged. "Hard to tell. I was sitting there for like an hour and it felt like at least a thousand turned up already... Who knows they could easily reach 60k by lunchtime."

"That is really scary! What if I make a mistake in front of so many people" Momo flapped squeamishly.

"Don't let yourself get intimidated. If you work yourself up you'll only make mistakes. Remember, they're all just vegetables." Kira reminded her.

"You'll be fine. Just relax, breathe deep and visualise carrots." I suggested nomming the rest of my chocolate raisin bun. Renji glared at me with envy and I pointedly rammed the rest of it into my mouth, mumbling about how good it tasted.

"That's it, I'm done! Food time before I die" He said pushing up from the sofa forcefully the heading for my bedroom window.

"Good, get lost so I can take a shower!" I said starting to pull off my sweaty workout t-shirt in front of everyone. Both of the boys dived into my room and out of the window as if they were avoiding an exploding bomb.

"Works every time!" I cackled loudly.

"You'll give them a heart attack one day," Rukia said shaking her head trying to fight off a smile. "Anyways, meet us down there when you're done. We've still got an hour to kill before the events start."

* * *

I changed into my yellow "Go-Go Shino-o!" T-shirt and shorts, which the coach had loved so much that he adopted it as our official track team kit, and headed down the get a second helping of sweets to keep my sugar levels nice and high for the coming events.

The others were relaxing at our usual table when I arrived and once I got my fix we headed back to the student village when the entrance to the festival started at the end of the street leading into the Lake area.

A tall wooden archway with "Shino-o Matsuri", or Shino-o festival, carved in Kanji marked the entrance and beyond lay countless wooden huts, shacks, stands, stalls, tents and booths with their owners bustling around to finish setting up.

A good number of students and Soul Reapers were already milling around, curiously taking in all of the different games, activities and food options that would be open for business later on.

As we entered Momo, the organised one, spotted leaflets on the welcome information stand and swiped on to read as we headed to the stadium beyond the lakes where our tournaments were to take place.

"Right, here's the plan!" Momo said decisively. "We walk past all of these cool stands and straight to the games. We can come back later. All of the tournaments take place in the same stadium rather than their own campus dojos due to the sheer amount of people attending, so we can watch each other compete."

"Thank god we don't have to go far. I need to save my energy to flatten a certain someone in Zanjutsu" Renji said stretching his arms eagerly.

"Dream on, you won't even get past round one" I sniped.

"You talk about saving your energy, then start a new fight with each other. You two make no sense!" Rukia sighed.

"Anyway, as I was saying: The first tournament is Kendo for Kira; Then Zanjustu for Kimi and Renji; Then Kido for Rukia, Kira and I; Then one the main three are done the club shows start with Kimi's track and sports teams. After that, we can all relax and watch the last shows until the ceremony this evening. And yes, Renji, they sell food in the stadium so you don't have to go far" she added as an afterthought and he nodded approvingly.

"Then tonight when the ceremony is done we can come back here and play games!" Rukia cheered.

The closer we got to the stadium the more my excitement and anticipation rose.

At the center of the massive oval-shaped structure stood the running track that I had trained on every day for the last 6 months or so with the flat green in the middle, though it wasn't empty as it usually was in our Track meetings, and there weren't any Flash step training obstacles as in our Hoho classes.

Instead, there were three separate sections. The first was a flat wooden deck, presumably for Zanjustu. The second was a long podium lined up in front of numerous targets and hoops on poles placed at different heights and distances, presumably for Kido. The third was a sports area with hoops, bars, crash mats, sandpits and other challenged.

On each of the stations, people milled around making their final adjustments and bringing in equipment.

We climbed into the stands directly next to the entrance and shuffled along to the next box where we managed to secure front rows seats before it got too busy.

I gazed across the stadium to the stands on the other side and realised that there were only black uniforms Soul Reapers. It seemed that we had been split up into sections. Students in the first few stands and officers In the rest.

Directly in front of us, I caught a flash of white beneath a canopy that blocked out the sun and saw Captain Aizen and his comrades sat in the front row of the VIP box.

I pretended I didn't notice and went back to discussing the events with my friends. Before long our hour-long wait for the start of the tournaments was over when a loudspeaker called out the beginning of the Kendo tournament and the stands began to fill faster as people hurried in to get seats.

Kira got up and headed down to join the other participants on the wooden floor at the centre of the track.

"Go Kira! You got this Bro!" I cheered enthusiastically from my seat as he left and the others offered encouraging words too.

The tournament began with an explanation of how the fights were laid out.

They had allowed for two participants from each year group, male and female, then added slips of paper with numbers one to twelve into two boxes, which meant that the guys and girls would be split up. I thought this seemed a little unfair as if to say that the girls couldn't take on the boys but I guess that was just the rules of the ancient sport.

Luckily Kira started off facing a second year and one quickly. It wasn't hard to tell that he had years of training before the academy under his belt. I'd only ever seen his skill in Zanjustu as only club members practised Kendo.

I wasn't into all the rules and regulations. The all-out war and chaos of Zanjustu with the only rule of 'Don't Kill Anyone' was more my style. Kira had perfect posture, poise and control and I knew that if that were me I would be twitching to let lose on my opponent and probably get disqualified in the first match.

"He's so good!" Momo said in surprise. "Do you think he can win it?"

"Absolutely," Renji said nodded in certainty.

"I have faith in him. Just watch, he'll come out on top!" I decided, applauding loudly as our friend won his second match in only a few moves.

Within the hour they had a winner. Unfortunately, it wasn't Kira. Despite our obnoxiously loud fangirling cheers from the stands, he got beat by a fifth year in the semi-finals, but he looked happy at the results of his hard work as he ascended the podium to accept his bronze medal from Master Dao nonetheless.

"Congrats bro, you whooped their butts!" I grinned offering him a rough high-five while Momo and Rukia bombarded him with hugs when he rejoined us in the stands.

"Man, it sucks that you got so close and yet so far," Renji said disappointedly giving Kira a fist bump as he reclaimed the seat beside him.

"It doesn't have to be all about winning you know," Rukia said in disapproval.

Momo nodded in agreement. "It's the taking part and having fun that really matters. At least he has a wonderful memory of achieving something wonderful today"

"Thanks guys, at least next year I know I'll have improved enough to win them" he smiled positively.

"That's the spirit!" Momo beamed.

"You still have Kido yet, there's still a chance for a win" I reminded him.

"Pft, he's got Kido in the bag! Have you seen him in class? Dude's a beast" Renji waved me off throwing an arm around his best friend's shoulder and Kira smiled awkwardly.

"Class is a whole different thing, were facing seniors here. We shouldn't get overconfident" Rukia warned.

"Oh shut up Sis, you're such a stick in the mud," Renji complained.

But before she could come back with something witty the loudspeakers chimed to life again and Master Dao's boomed out: "Can all participants for the Zanjustu tournament please make their way onto the arena field. Matches will begin in ten minutes."

"That's was fast" I blinked in surprise flying up out of my seat in excitement. "Ready to get battered to a pulp Renji?"

"I think the word you're looking for bored, not battered. You don't scare me a midget!"

"Fast change overseeing as the arena is staying the same, I guess" Kira cut between us before we could start with an insult war. "But good luck both of you"

"Goodluck! I'll be supporting you both equally. Whatever happens, we still love you!" she said hugging me quickly as we passed.

"Just please don't kill each other," Rukia pleaded, giving me a wilting look from the seat at the end of the row.

I glanced back at her as I descended the stairs at the jog and bobbed my tongue out playfully. "I promise I won't, too many witnesses"

* * *

On the other side of the bleachers, Shuhei ascended the stairs into the Captains and Lieutenants bay where it was far more comfortable with plush padded seats and a sunblock overhead.

He got vague greetings from some of the officers he was acquainted with from past missions as he was making his way along the front row. Finally, he came to the person he was looking for, the brooding young woman who led Squad Two.

"Captain," he nodded respectfully by way of greeting as he came to a halt beside her. She stood in front of her seat leaning over the bars of the bay, peering over the proceedings and looking lost in thought as usual. She was quiet at the best of times, a very private woman whose mind always seemed to be wiring away like a well-oiled machine, always twenty steps ahead of everyone else. Unfortunately, she had sacrificed her patience and people skills for her brilliant mind and undeniable skill.

"Shuhei-" she greeted him back absently without even a glance.

"Did you spot her?" he asked quietly so not to allow anyone in the stands behind them to overhear.

"Hard not to, she's easily the smallest person there-" the Captain said pointing down at the little midnight-purple haired girl in that annoyingly bright yellow sports gear that they'd been seeing all over campus, bouncing up and down to warm herself up for her coming matches with her standard-issue Asauchi sword gripped in her right hand. Beside her, a tall red-haired boy put his hand flat out above her head, mockingly challenging her to jump higher and she retaliated with a sweeping low kick his ankle that almost knocked his feet from under him and made it yell in pain.

Shuhei snorted a laugh. Every time he saw the two of them together they were fighting like cat and dog, and yet they appeared to make a decent team... if their suspicions were correct.

"That's only one of the characteristics you're looking for, wait 'til you see her fight," he promised. "She may be small, but she is no joke."

Sui Feng hummed thoughtfully and turned to face her lieutenant in the front row. "Omaeda-" she demanded briskly raising her voice to pull his attention away from the pack of potato chips he was inhaling.

The obese man froze with his hand hovering in front of his open mouth, his beady eyes flashing up at the obvious disgust in his leader's sharp black eyes. "Uh…Yes, Captain?" he asked hesitantly with his mouth still full.

She cringed and looked away from him. Just the sight of his gormless face made her want to throttle him. "Make yourself useful and bring me the file on First-Year Kimiko Murasaki from the administration office."

"Uhh… Why do you want some kid's file?"

"Don't question me, just do it."

"Uh… Yes Ma'am!" he said heaving himself up out of the two seats he was currently occupying with great difficulty and bustling away.

Shuhei watched him go with an amused smile. "You're still uncertain then?"

"Not uncertain, just cautious. Everything the girl has ever done will be in that file which I only have access to today- formally, at least; Once I have seen her performance with my own eyes, I will be able to make my decision. I just need to confirm my suspicions with solid evidence before jumping to conclusions."

"Careful as always. For some reason I expected you to go in on her like a pack of wolves."

"After all this time, Shuhei? I thought you knew me better."

"I do, but I've never seen you follow a lead quite as determinately as this one."

"True. But there is plenty at stake this time. For now, we can relax and observe. Take a seat; Omaeda will be a while. He never attended the Academy, so he doesn't even know where the admin office is."

"Why do I have a feeling you gave him that errand on purpose?" Shuhei grinned dropping down into one of Omaeda's seats beside the Captain and watched as the show began.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I'm alive! Sorry this one took so long. Had a lot going on with being made redundant from my job and hunting for a new one. By the time I'm home I'm just too tired to concentrate or too many distractions. I also think I may have lost some of my future chapter notes when I had a new phone but hopefully, I have copies somewhere so they shouldn't take too long once I get focused. This one and the next one (which were originally one 22k word long chapter) took a while to get past the writer's block because none of it was preplanned. They just kinda happened lol

I also found out yesterday that I am dyslexic when I did a skills test at a training course so maybe that makes sense if there are mistakes around here that I haven't noticed?

I'm trying to go back over my original chapters to fix mistakes I have noticed but for some reason, they keep coming up as a corrupted coding even though I'm copying and pasting from Office word, not google docs. *shrugs*

More coming soon hopefully, thanks for sticking around and feel free to drop a review if you like :)


	42. Survival Games

A/N: Hi all! Just a quick note before we start, I recommend you go and search for the song Aishiteru Banzai by U's in the anime Love Live and look for the ep13 school graduation ceremony clip, just so the scene makes sense at the end of the chapter, especially if you haven't watched LL. On we go!

 _ **Chapter 42 – Survival games**_

The organisers took a few minutes to await late arrivals and then explained how this was going to work. Much like the previous Kendo tournament, numbers one to twenty were written on slips of paper, but this time they were placed into one black box instead of two seeing as Zanjutsu was basically a free-for-all with no real regulations and therefore the girls were free to fight the boys.

Depending on which numbers were drawn, each participant's student ID photo was placed into one of the twenty boxes on the board, ten in the vertical line on the right and the other ten on the left. Each participant was then linked to the person below them by on a green line that showed who they would be facing until one by one they were knocked out, leaving one person from each side to battle for the win in the finale.

Thankfully Renji ended up on the other side so It would still be able to face him if he didn't get wiped out too quickly.

I was in the fourth box on the middle left of the leader board placing me against a second year in my first fight, which would be the third of the tournament as each side took turns to fight pair by pair. Renji was all the way at the end of the right side on what would be the final fight of round one.

After explaining the leaderboard layout Dao explained the rules clearly and carefully:

"They're simple really, and every single one of you should be able to follow them. 1) No use of Kido, or Shikai's for you sixth years" he said nodding to the two chosen participants who were allowed to use their sealed Zanpakuto's seeing as the blade had no advantages in its sealed state. " 2) The fights will consist of Sword combat only, though defensive Hakuda may be permitted; 3) Do not leave the edges of the arena. Leaving results in immediate disqualification. 4) No fatalities, though slight injuries are to be expected. Am I understood?"

"Yes Sir!" we all chanted loudly and he moved back to the judge's podium on the edge of the arena.

The matches began shortly with Dao calling out each fighter's name via his megaphone for the crowd to hear. At the end, he would officially announce the winner and we would watch the leaderboard adjust to reflect the result.

The first few fights were over with fairly quickly, then it was my turn to take centre stage for the first time.

The look of overconfidence on the second-year girl's face as I slipped into my one-handed water dancer stance at the centre of the arena was priceless.

She looked at me as if I was just some newbie kid trying to show off for the crowd. Of course, my size always gave unsuspecting enemies the first impression of weakness. So far not a single person I had ever faced had made the more logical connection between smallness and speed, but I wasn't complaining. Their complacency was an advantage to me.

Clearly, she was one of the many around school who hadn't yet seen or heard of my unusual style, or maybe she had heard but didn't believe it without having seen me fight with her own eyes; So, When the claxon sounded and I lunged for her in the blink of an eye she was caught completely off-guard.

To everyone's surprise, her grip on the sword hadn't been tight enough and my solid upward swing attack had been more than enough to send it soaring into the air with a loud metallic ring as the blades clashed. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. That split second felt like a century for the sword to travel such a small distance and come to a clattering stop a few feet away, in that time we were both unable to change the outcome. We stood there staring at the weapon for a few moments, the reality of what had just happened dawned on us.

I had ended an official tournament fight in less than five seconds, and I hadn't even meant to do it.

The crowd exploded around us, but I was too busy looking towards the judges to see if what I had done was even legal. They were huddled together apparently discussing it and after a moment they nodded and held up a green card to give my win the go-ahead.

On the leader board, my opponent's face was became blacked out and a glowing green line slithered from my picture in the fourth slot to an empty slot beside it, dragging my picture along with it and connecting me to whichever person won the next match on our side.

I didn't know how to feel. Elated that I'd pulled off such a feat in front of so many influential people, disappointed that the match hadn't lasted longer to really let me work for the win or sorry for my opponent who looked crushed by such a humiliating defeat.

She wondered off to join the rejects at the edge of the arena after I apologised sincerely and I rejoined the left side winners.

At the front right side of the field, I could see Renji giving a goofy grin and thumbs up in approval and I couldn't help but smile. I wanted him to win too, but not for his sake. I desperately wanted a damn good fight, something fun and memorable and he could guarantee me that.

The rest of the matches in the first round were fun to watch but pretty standard, almost like watching the individual sparring matches in class, just with mixed year groups at a different venue.

Of course, Renji won his first match with his usual tactic of overwhelming his opponent with his sheer power and the weight behind his attacks.

I thought how our styles were such polar opposites that to anyone watching who didn't know us, It would be hard to call because we countered each other in so many aspects. Now I kinda regretted giving him access to the gym under my club membership ID all those months ago. If he did somehow manage to win our fight would kinda be my own fault. I only hoped we would make it far enough to make that fight happen.

My next match was a little more challenging. Now that I had fought once, the other competitors were at least in some way prepared for me, even though all they had seen was my starting stance and my initial speed.

My next opponent, a fourth-year boy was ready for my first attack and managed to deflect it cleanly even though I flashed and came in from a different direction to throw him off.

His blocking skills were on point, but luckily all of my training over the past few months had built my stamina up enough to dance circles around him for a few minutes until he made the impatient mistake of lowering his defences in favour of offences in an attempt to halt my fast movements. I finally found the opening I was looking for and went in for the disarming blow and my second win.

By the time my fourth match ended I'd had enough time to study my potential opponents and the self-doubt started to creep in. So far I had gotten lucky and fumbled my way through the whole thing. There was no way I would get to the end with the sheer difference in skill and experience the others had over me, especially now that they could predict my moves... but I had to try.

I managed to somehow land two more wins, all the while glancing at Renji to see if he was paying attention and sure enough he had eyes like an eagle honing in on its prey. I made a gesture towards him that said: "I'm coming for you" and gave me a rude hand gesture return, though the smirk on his face gave away his excitement.

I was finally at the semi-finals and now came my hardest fight yet. The leader board connected my portrait to one of Kanisawa's minions almost at the centre of the board. Whichever of us won this match would be into the finals. Full of energy we both climbed onto the arena.

Although Kanisawa and I were now on speaking terms thanks to me saving her life, her girlfriends who were also student council and disciplinary squad members still seemed to hold resentment towards me. It probably had something to do with the countless times I had mouthed off at them for giving me a detention over some stupid, thing like running through the corridors to get to the music club after dinner, or dropping ice cubes down Renji's back in the middle of a busy hallway just to see if it would cause a chain reaction of terrified screaming students in a confined space. It was no secret that they were still gunning for me after knocking their friend down the stairs and I didn't try to hide how much I hated them. They seemed to follow my every move as if waiting to feed on the trouble and chaos that I left in my wake.

And now here we were, just me and the one I called "blondie" as id never picked up on her name and didn't care. I had an excuse to take out my annoyance on a person that deserved it and I was going to enjoy every moment.

"Look out Murasaki, you're going to get what's coming to you," she taunted standing with both hands gripped tightly on her sword and heels planted firmly into the light brown floorboards.

She was ready for me, no doubt about it. If I'd have faced her first I could have easily won, but she'd had time to watch and study me through my previous matches. I had to either think of something different to throw her off or go in for the figurative kill headfirst.

"What you gonna do? Give me detention? Nothing you can punish me for here." I shrugged.

"We'll see," she smirked and the claxon rang to signal the beginning of our fight.

I went in favour of the quick kill to get it over with, flashing out of sight and appearing behind her to disarm her from a blind spot, but to my shock she whirled around and blocked me with a firm, calculated downward grip on her Zanpakuto, its silvery-grey grip and circular guard standing out against my standard-issue Asauchi like a sore thumb.

The sight of it made my stomach roll. It wasn't the first time I'd fought against a Zanpakuto, but the sight of it was a clear reminder of how out of my league she was. I had no idea what the sword's power could be, but she could potentially unleash hell on me if she wanted to, not that she was stupid enough to break the rules here. But the thought did tick at the back of my mind and made me feel uneasy.

"So predictable," she smiled. I kicked off her blade and landed a few feet away with a backflip to put some distance between us.

"You'll have to try much harder than that, newbie."

I gritted my teeth and glared at her. I couldn't let her think she was getting to me else I would falter and instantly lose and that was not an option. "Fine, I was going to put you out of your misery but have it your way." And we charged to the centre for a melee spree.

She was fast and had a lot of control behind her wrist movements as well as the force to hold her sword steadily in one position even after being hit repeatedly at such a rapid pace, so it was hard to land a blow strong enough to knock her off balance.

But If my strength wasn't enough, I only one more option: To go all out agility instead.

Over time as we moved around the arena in a waltz of attacks my speed began to snowball, steadily picking up momentum until I could dance around her fast enough for her to miss swipes completely.

I had enough stamina to keep up this pace for about three minutes, two minutes if I got any faster, but two minutes had been more than enough time to confused and drop the guard of my other opponents so far and I had to pray that she suffered from motion sickness or something

Over and over again I moved, attacked, moved, attacked, so fast that to the untrained eye it would look like Blondie was fighting off an extremely aggressive ghost. I was little more than a blur, intentionally moving to different positions and proximities in no particular pattern around her so any attacks on her part would be complete guesswork.

Without warning I halted my dance and attacked from the side, swiping down at her from the air but somehow she just knew.

She turned to me and smiled, and once again everything seemed to be in slow motion. I was in a position that I couldn't possibly change my attack now. As my sword came down on her she raised her own to block it, then while I was poised above her she wrapped a hand around my neck and used our momentum to redirect me over her shoulder in a body slam.

I flew a few feet and crashed to the ground on my back with rib-cracking force, banging the back of my head.

I lay there dazed for a moment coughing and spluttering at the force she had used to throw me. My vision was fuzzy around the edges but her outline loomed towards me, her sword outstretched and scraping the ground as she strolled towards me.

"It doesn't matter how hard you try," I heard her say it echoey as if it was coming from far away. "It all comes down to experience, and you're nothing but talk."

She was closer now, her sword glinted in the sunlight and aimed at my throat. At that moment, a memory came flooding back to me clear as the black sky above us on the night it took place. I was back in the forest with Fang during the capture the flag stealth game so many months ago. Her movements in the present time almost matched his and the same aura of hateful intent was oozing out of her. With my cloudy mind and tunnel vision, I forgot that I was actually in a safe environment surrounded by witnesses.

I clenched my fist and felt the hard leather wrap of Ruby's handle, clutching it in a death grip. Somehow I hadn't let go of the sword during my fall. I wasn't out yet.

I freaked out and raised my arms and sword over my head to protect myself with a roar of force just as she came slicing down for one last finishing blow.

Once again a gust of glacial air came bursting out of nowhere from behind me and threw her back into the air, pummelling her with small razor-like icicle shards, coming to my rescue at a time of need as it had done numerous times now. Her sword spun in the air when she lost her grip on it in mid-flight, the blade embedding itself into the wooden floor and wobbling side to side with a strange metallic ringing. Finally, the gale subsided as I released my energy and lowered my hand and she was dropped outside of the arena a few feet away.

I panted, my heart racing from the fright of being defenceless beneath the sword of an enemy who hated me once again and from the adrenaline that always fuelled my body's fight or flight response.

As my vision cleared and my heart began to slow down I came to my senses and realised that the crowd was silent. There was no cheering at the entertaining fight or applause for my win.

Blondie was getting to her feet on the grass beyond the arena looking livid and the judges were talking amongst themselves.

After a moment of glaring at me, her lip began to quiver and I could have sworn there were tears in her eyes. "No..." She squeaked. "No! That's not fair! She cheated! She used Kido! She should be disqualified!" She shouted stomping her foot in an angry tantrum.

The crowd mumbled and the judges put their heads together again.

I got up from the floor unsteadily and hobbled towards the judges, holding on tight to my sword and pressing a knuckle into the pain in my upper back where I had landed.

"No! That wasn't Kido! I don't even know any advanced offensive Kido!" I called to them trying to reason with them but Dao held up a hand to stop me.

"Enough Murasaki, the judges with make their discussion. Stand down."

I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying something stupid and stepped back. Just then I felt and hand on my shoulder and turned around to find Renji looking completely confused.

"The hell happened?!"

"I don't know! I freaked out and now they're saying I used Kido!" I snapped angrily.

"That's a load crap, Iv seen you do that before, it wasn't kido!"

"Abarai- I suggest you get back in line before receive penalties too," Dao said vaguely from behind us.

I shoved him towards the other fighters who were sitting talking amongst themselves at the arena edge. "Go. There's no point in two of us getting into trouble, you still have a chance."

He grimaced and nodded before walking away.

I already knew that I was doom just because Dao had some influence in the verdict, and he still had a problem with me after our last bad encounter even if it happened months ago. He always seemed to be on the side of the enforcement and disciplinary squads and often threatened to get them involved when witnessing bad behaviour around the school, so I already knew the outcome.

The judges seemed unsure so they resorted to rewatching camera footage on small screens from behind their podium.

Sure enough, after a little more discussion the results were in. Dao picked up a microphone and spoke out to the arena and the crowd hushed again.

"After careful examination of the playback footage of the match between Murasaki and Nishizono, we have decided that Miss Murasaki did indeed break the rules of the tournament and use Kido to disarm Miss Nishizono. She is therefore disqualified."

The crowd's reaction was mixed. There was a loud gasp from my supporters who knew it wasn't Kido and a small amount of applause from those who were friends of Nishizono or thought that I cheated.

I booted the judge's table in anger, too pumped to feel the ringing pain in my toe as a result. I wasn't surprised but that didn't stop my anger from bursting out. "YOU'VE GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME! THAT'S BULLSHIT! YOU KNOW FULL WELL I WAS IN WITHIN THE RULES!" I snarled aiming an accusatory finger at Dao.

"And you can have detention for the language and attitude. I suggest you drop that tone or you'll I'll upgrade it to last until the end of the year. Remember where you are, girl."

I looked around. He was right. There were far too many witnesses to let my boiling temper get out of control here and now. Whatever reputation I had built to potential recruiters so far could go out the window if I didn't control myself. I took a deep shaking breath and exhaled in an attempt to blow off some steam and stop myself from punching Nishizono's lights out on the spot; then I turned on my heel and marched off toward the stands without a backward glance.

"Oh well. Once a rule-breaker always a rule breaker I guess" Nishizono shrugged, a sickly sweet satisfied smile plastered all over her smug face.

I stopped just in front of her and said quietly under my voice.

"It sucks that you're the one who has to oversee my detentions alone like always. Imagine having no superiors to run and cry to when something goes wrong," I said in a not so subtle venomous threat.

Nishizono stiffened but didn't react, it seemed she understood what I meant but she didn't say anything. She knew full well that she got that win by throwing a hissy-fit and when we were next alone together, as we always were for my detentions because she was the one in charge of overseeing punishments, there would be nowhere to run and no one to cry to.

I smirked at the satisfying image of putting her in her place with no one to hear her scream and finally getting my revenge and with that sick but happy thought I continued to reclaim my seat in the stands.

* * *

Back up in the private Captain's stand, Omaeda was returning with Kimi's file, panting as if he had run a marathon.

He was annoyed to find Shuhei looking so comfortable in his spot among all of the Lieutenants and Captains like he belonged there. They didn't welcome Omaeda back or offer to give his seat back, instead, Sui Feng snatched the file from his hand leaving him standing there awkwardly and began flicking through it with interest just as the winner of the Zanjustu tournament is crowded on the arena below.

"See what I mean?" Shuhei asked cryptically in a tone that said: "I told you so."

"I do. Falling down the stairs in the first week of school around the time that 'Jade' did the same thing – Check; Glowing blue eyes, Ice abilities and an unusually high spiritual pressure – Check; Excels in speed and stealth-based combat – Check; A tendency to break the rules and a unique fighting style that's almost like dancing, which ties in the this 'character' you say she portrays on stage in her music – Check. It's all here."

"Captain, what's going on?" Omaeda asked cluelessly still hovering next to them.

Just as Sui Feng was about to snap back for him to go bring her food just to get rid of him there was a fuss in the row behind.

Kaien Shiba was shimmying along the row with a tray piled so high with food that he had to balance it under his chin to stop it toppling forward. "Whoa, excuse me coming through, watch your toes-"

Just as he was passing behind them he happened to glance down to check If there were any obstacles to block his path and caught a glimpse of Murasaki's student ID photograph on the front of her file. He froze and peered down over Sui Feng's shoulder curiously.

"Heeyy… I know that kid!"

Any other time, Sui Feng would have been annoyed that someone was eavesdropping over her shoulder but seeing as it was Lieutenant Shiba who was partially in on the operation since the beginning without really knowing it, she made an exception for the sake of intelligence gathering.

"You know Murasaki, Lieutenant? How so?"

"It's an odd story, but If that's who I think it is I helped her train to get into the academy years ago. And when I say years ago, I mean like a lot of years. I'm surprised she still looks the same but there's no way I could forget those eyes. Does this mean she's here now?" he said peering around as if expecting her to be sitting in one of the seats around them. Sui Feng rolled her eyes at his occasional ditziness.

Shuhei pointed over to the opposite side of the stands where the girl was huddled up in a ball on the front row beside Renji while her friends headed down to the Kido on the fields below, sulking with her knees up to her chin like a small child having a tantrum. "Right over there. You just missed her Zanjutsu fight- She got disqualified for mistaken Kido usage."

Kaien snorted. "That kinda doesn't surprise me. I can imagine her cheating. She used to race with me to learn how to flash step and try any cheat in the book to win. Never worked of course. She was a promising kid years ago, It would have been nice to see what she's like now," he said thoughtfully.

"Who's that?" Another voice asked from further down the row. Captain Shiba was walking up the row, apparently coming to investigate the late arrival of their clan's feast which Kaien was still precariously balancing under his chin.

"Kimiko Murasaki, the girl who just got disqualified," Shuhei offered.

"Oh her? Never heard of her, am I supposed to?" the fluffy faced man said peering around the arena curiously trying to spot her as he chomped down on the burger from the top of the food tower.

Over his shoulder on the row behind his niece and Kaien's younger sister Kukaku leaned in, scooping the tray out of Kaien's arms with an angry scowl. "Honestly, I care more about my dissolving stomach than some no-name freshman. Get your asses over here or you automatically forfeit your food to me!" she complained loudly.

"Shut up and take it. Its Uncle Isshin's round next anyway, I'm not paying again." Kaien said pushing the overloaded try into her chest and she retreated down the row looking like her birthday had come early. Isshin chased after her complaining about how his wallet wasn't a bottomless pit but Kaien leapt over the seats to sit in Omaeda's other chair beside Shuhei.

Omaeda glared at the younger, fitter lieutenant and resigned to leaning against the bay bars. "Come to think of it… I think I recognise her from somewhere too…" he said, stroking the whisky strands of hair on one of his many chins thoughtfully. "Can't put my finger on it…"

"Thinking of doing a spot of recruiting, Captain Sui Feng?" Captain Aizen asked from the right side of the stands just down the front row, leaning forward to join the conversation with his usual serene smile. "Murasaki is quite well known around campus, for better or for worse. I may even suggest that she is a promising prospect, though others consider her a troublemaker."

"I appreciate your input, Captain." She replied bluntly in a way that told him to butt out. She had never liked the young captain. There was always something… odd about him that she could never quite figure out.

"Oh, I quite agree," Captain Unohana joined in from two rows up almost directly behind Aizen's bunch. "She is unusually gifted. Many years ago, back when old Lieutenant Seinosuke was still alive, we conducted a full medical evaluation on her after she was brought to the Rukon investigation office; She had an unusual case of Amnesia that could not have been natural and seemed to inhibit her somewhat, but she was still a tough cookie to put it plainly."

"Oh yeah! I remember now!" Omaeda pipped up. "She was found unconscious at the crime scene of those suspected hollowfication experiments that Urahara did in District Five!" Omaeda blurted out suddenly.

The entire bay suddenly froze and focused in on that alarming detail.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Many of those listening in around them exclaimed. Even Sui Feng was surprised at such an unexpected revelation.

"What? Why is this not in her file?" she demanded angrily, flicking back through the papers to make sure she hadn't missed it.

Omaeda shrugged. "The memory loss stopped her from potentially being our star witness, so we dropped her from the case, thank god. She was a loudmouth little brat, always complaining and making demands. We suspected that whoever performed the hollow experiments must have knocked her out and locked away the memories of whatever she saw to try and get rid of a witness without killing her, and they did a damn good job. Definitely the sort of thing Urahara would do."

Sui Feng made a noise of frustrated anger, both at the neglected information and the mention of that man's name. Even now so many years after his exile the thought of him annoyed her. "That is hardly a lack of information. It may be conjecture, but even so- That is the sort of implication we may have needed to know about in the future. Say for example those memories come back-"

"That case is long since closed, Captain Two. You needn't worry about ancient history." Captain Aizen smiled kindly.

"He's right. Even if new information was to come out, the sentences were already carried out. There's is nothing anyone could do to change the outcome." Captain Tousen added. "Wouldn't you agree, Captain Kuchiki?"

From beside Tousen the quiet man with long, silky black hair made an input, getting involved in the conversation for the first time. "Hardly worth the resources and effort." He agreed simple in a flat, uninterested tone.

Sui Feng harrumphed indignantly and turned her back on them to stare out over the field. She hated when people contradicted and shot her down like that.

"Sorry Captain. It just didn't seem worth it at the time." Omaeda said in looking guilty and flinching as if expecting an earful.

She didn't shout so not to cause a scene, though she was annoyed. Down below Murasaki's friends were visible on the big screen as they finished their Kido tournament "It is always worth it, no matter how small the detail. And if I find you failing to take note of investigation intel in future, I'll have your head, Omaeda." She threatened quietly out of earshot of everyone except perhaps Shuhei and Kaien. But they knew full well how little faith she had in her Lieutenant. That was, after all, the reason she had holding secret contests.

Now her mind was wiring even faster than usual, trying to see if there were any connections she could make between Murasaki and the experiments but nothing came to her immediately. The tiny purple-haired firecracker fit the bill for the Beezlebeast raid's assailant perfectly now that all of the evidence was collected in one place, but the hollowfication experiments? How could she possibly be involved? It was too much of a coincidence for her not to be, but how?

The more she stared at the girl's ID picture, the more she felt like she too recognised her from somewhere in the back of her memory, long ago.

"Well, if it helps, I can vouch for her as one of her teachers." Lieutenant Isane of Squad Four piped up from beside her Captain. "She had always been a decent student in my Kaido classes… Mainly because she's been my demonstration guinea pig. She always seems to be getting injured in Zanjustu right before my class which gives me a live wound to heal for them."

"That's not surprising with the way she fights. She's fast but takes a lot of risks," Lieutenant Nanao frowned from beside Captain Ukitake who was sitting in the row behind the Shiba's. There was an empty seat in between them where her Captain should have been, but no doubt he was up to no good near the alcohol stands outside or something.

"Hey, be glad my Captain and the guys aren't here! He would have pulled the poor kid out of school and into Squad Eleven in a heartbeat with a performance like that." Kukaku laughed loudly, downing a midday cup of sake in one, then offering some to the lieutenant beside her.

"At least Yachiru would have a new bestie, look at the size of her! There can't be much of an age difference" Captain Shiba laughed nomming on a hotdog in one huge bite. "Where is Zaraki anyways? Seem odd for him to miss a Zanjustu tournament. I was expecting someone to have to restrain him to stop him from getting involved.

There was a snort of laughter from the crowd at the comical scene of the huge, ripped man attempting to rip apart poor defenceless little students.

Kukaku shrugged. "I dunno. Guess he just couldn't be bothered. He's probably still sleeping. I did try to bride them with a little private sparring match when the festival starts and the arena is empty after dark, but they seemed too tired. Probably up until the crack of dawn this morning again."

"Sure sounds like something they would do," Ukitake smiled awkwardly.

Lieutenant Matsumoto accepted the tiny cup from Kukaku graciously downed it too, already looking slightly rosy-cheeked. "She should have won that match! It was a no brainer! It's been a long time since I saw anyone move like that."

There was a vague mumbling of agreement around them, though everyone seemed to collectively shift sideways away from the rowdy drunken bunch as if not wanting to associate with them.

"There's no changing the judge's mind's now. And it's not like it matters anyway. It's only a high school play fight after all. It's not like their lives depend on these fights" Kaien yawned rolling his eyes at his family.

"At least the festival got you guys away from the offices for once though, right? The change of scenery must be nice," Shuhei asked and this got a relieved mumble of agreement from the crowd. Below them, the Kido tournament was just coming to an end but no one had really been paying the slightest bit of attention.

"Pointless playfights or not, her grades are listed as all being above pass rate though she excels practical classes- Particularly Zanjustu and Hoho as she just demonstrated and has shown an affinity for none offensive support types of Kido, which supports her case against disqualification back there in the attack being an energy burst and not Hado. Very interesting." Sui Feng mused.

"Hey, here she goes again," Shuhei pointed out a while later as the contestants for the sports races were called down the track after the Kido medals had been handed out.

Like a coiled string full of energy, Kimiko impatiently leapt over the railings of the first row bypassing the stairs completely. She had a look of angry determination after her unjust defeat earlier as she began her prerace warmups. The majority of the Captain's booth watched eagerly now that she had been brought to their attention. When the claxon sounded, she burst away from the starting blocks and hit the finish line of the 100-meter sprint in six seconds flat, causing a roar of cheers from the students seated in the stand's opposite.

"Need I say more?" Shuhei smirked again.

"Hm. Perhaps she could be of use to me."

* * *

As I stormed back up the stairs into the stands where my friends sat, many of the crowd called out to me with condolences and words of encouragement.

I vaguely waved by way of thanking them for their support and crashed into my seat beside Kira.

"I don't get it... What happened?" Momo asked looking lost.

"Blondie lost her shit, that's what." I spat disgustedly putting my feet up on the empty seat on the row below me and gazing up at the sky so I didn't have to watch Renji's upcoming fight. Whether he won or lost, I would be happy for him later, but right now it would only boil my blood more.

"You should appeal the ruling! Go down there and give them a piece of your mind!" Rukia suggested.

"Rukia! Don't encourage her to get into trouble! Good grief, am I the only good influence around here?" Momo sighed despairingly on Rukia's other side.

I shook my head. "Shockingly I'm with Momo on this one. It's not worth the trouble, especially in my current mood. I'll get nowhere by screaming and shouting."

"Good to see you're not going with your emotions for once. You know that the student council has favouritism privileges. She was just throwing her power around" Kira said wisely.

"She can have the win if she desperate enough to act like a toddler Infront of the whole school, I don't care."

Thankfully they left me alone after that, but it wasn't long until Master Dao announced loudly that Renji had also lost against his opponent and therefore would not be continuing to the finals.

I smiled slightly, selfishly thankful that he would have one less thing to gloat about when he returned. Though to my surprise, he didn't gloat at all.

He stuck around until the very end, where unfortunately Nishizono won against the fifth year that beat Renji, and Renji received his bronze third-place medal; But to my surprise by the time he got back into the stands the medal was gone, hidden out of sight.

When he sat down on my other side I was still staring determinedly at the sky with my feet up but he didn't taunt, joke or make rude any comments. Instead, he nudged me in the side to get my attention.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what happened down there. You should have won that, we should have had our chance to fight but she stole it from us..."

My heart bounced. Was harsh, critical, egotistical Renji being sympathetic?

I shifted to a normal sitting position and looked at him. "It's fine. You lost anyway so I would have been fighting the guy that beat you."

"Oh, thanks for your support," he said dryly rolling his eyes and leaning back in his seat.

"I don't mean that in a bad way! I'm just trying to look on the bright side for a change. There's nothing more I could have done... but at least you got a souvenir-" I grimaced nodding to the concealed ribbon hanging around his neck under his shirt.

He pulled his collar up over it awkwardly. "Whatever. Not how I wanted to win but it'll do I guess."

"Are you calm now?" Kira asked over my shoulder. "You didn't rip his head off, that's a good sign"

"I'm calm, I promise. I just want to get out there and do something. I hate sitting around."

"Not long until the sports contest, just sit tight until we finish in the Kido, okay?"

"You got it, bro. Wait are you guys heading down now? Isn't it a bit early?" I asked putting my feet up again and Renji did the same, though comically my legs were fully outstretched and his were arched almost to his chin.

"Yeah, we've been sitting here for ages and they're almost done- see" Momo pointed down to the arena.

The organisers had simply moved any equipment used in the previous two tournaments and added a standing podium on the left side of the arena floor facing out at the targets they were setting up a few meters away out in the grass.

"Fair enough. Good luck, no matter who wins I still love you guys!" I said mimicking Momo's sentiment from when Renji and I left earlier on. She and Rukia both mimicked my reaction, blew appreciative kisses as if being hailed by adoring fans as they descended the stairs which made me giggle. I was so grateful for their uncanny ability to make me happy.

There was still a little while until they finished setting up for Kido so at my command Renji went to reluctantly hunt down food for me since I was feeling kinda drained after my match. I always did after using so much energy.

By the time he returned with drinks and chicken wings Dao was calling out on the megaphone for the next competitors to gather and my three friends moved into the arena before anyone else, clearly excited.

This competition was split into six-year groups to start with, each with 4 competitors. Each group would have rounds in which they would be required to shoot offensive Kido spells at the targets and objects on the field; The objects, things like barrels, vases, boxes etc. were all crammed together and piled up high into the open space and were painted in a different colour to signify the score value. Each of the bullseye targets was worth more depending on how much of it was intact by the end of the round.

It started with the first years and Rukia, Momo and Kira all lined up on the podium facing the shooting range along with another boy from our class that we didn't speak to.

Madame Onigei stood off to the side shouting out what spells she wanted them to perform in quick succession. Shakkaho, So Katsui, Byakurai, Horin, Sho, then back to Byakurai just to confuse them and on it went until the round was over.

We had covered all of the spells in class, though my friends picked them up a lot more quickly than I did. I prefered supportive Bakudo spells to Offensive Hado so I preferred to have escapes and control spells to aid the power I already had. I didn't see much point in specialising in my damage when I needed to keep myself alive.

Everyone performed wonderfully with no incantations which made the feat even more impressive. Vases blasted into pieces and expelled plumes of coloured flour that obstructed their aim, boxes flew into the air and plates shattered.

"Whose your money on?" I asked Renji.

He shrugged. "I would say my Sister just because she would kill me if she knew I was on someone else's side. I know Kira can do this but look at Momo, she's in the zone."

He was right. The look of concentration on the petite girl's face was fierce, which was surprising because Momo was usually so gentle and not at all competitive, but this looked super important to her, just as important as Zanjustu and running were to me. I suspected part of her determination came from the worry she expressed earlier about not wanting to make a fool out of herself in front of so many influential people.

"I think you could be right."

By the end of the round, Momo sat at the top of the leader board with 637 points, Kira was in second place with 602 and Rukia was fourth with 542 having missed quite a few shots thanks to the coloured dust floating through the air.

There was a polite round of applause and Momo was whisked off to take a seat beside the judges while the second years stepped up for their turn.

There wasn't a lot of room twenty-four people to be sitting so the losers of the round were sent back to the stands leaving only the winners and those still to compete down int the arena.

We applauded politely for Rukia and Kira as they left the arena to rejoin us.

"You guys were great, you've really got the hang of incantation-less spells now. I'm impressed!" I told them as they took their seats.

"Thanks, I could have done better but it was tougher then it looked" Rukia sighed.

"It's fine, at least we know what to expect for next year now. We have a whole year to get stronger" Kira smiled positively.

"A year is more than enough, you'll both smash it next time!" Renji agreed.

"Of course they will. Though I hope Momo is going to be okay down there with all those seniors..."

She was fine... in the beginning. She started strong and then, unfairly, our teacher called out a spell that we had literally on just touched on at the beginning of the week while all of the festival preparations were consuming what would have usually been our practice sessions and poor Momo became flustered. She managed to fire a weak version of the spell with a half incantation once but it completely missed the targets and the seniors continued firing away with ease, so she fell behind and ended up right at the bottom of the scoreboard at the end. Although 717 point was an excellent score for her level.

She was dismissed while the top three were pulled aside to receive their medals and I could have cried for her as she floated back to the stands looking crushed.

Rukia and I threw our arms around her when she returned and she hugged us tightly. "How bad was I?"

"Not bad at all! You did so well!" Rukia told her truthfully.

"You did great right up until that light blast spell. I mean, we don't even know that one yet! That was unfair!"

"Maybe but like you said, it's not worth arguing. I'll be fine. At least I know now know what to improve on!"

"That's the spirit. I said the same thing. You can only learn from mistakes" Kira nodded.

"Rays of sunshine as usual," Renji grinned before nudging me in the side. "Come on let's go for a break before firecracker here gets called down to burn a trench into the running track.

* * *

All of my anger and resentment towards Nishizono and the corrupt official's decision was poured into my efforts in the sports contests.

I was so riled up and raring to go that the idea of wanting to rest didn't cross my mind. I leapt down over the barrier at the front row of the stands skipping the stairs completely and dropping eight-foot straight to the dirt next to the track like a cat.

I stood there stretching as I listened to the coach explain how this was going to work.

"Alright gather round," he called and we crowded in to listen. "So much the same as the previous events, we will hold a basic 100-meter sprint race for each of the six years to decide to who gets to run in the longer races, who is on the relay team in what order and who will be benched as reserves. If you don't make it, it's nothing personal. Just try harder and maybe next time you'll get your chance. Good luck to all and put on an awesome show."

As the coach expected I came out on top for the first years seeing as none of the others trained quite so seriously as me. That meant I got to run the 100 meters mixed year race, which I came first in beating my previous record in 6.9 seconds; then the 400 meter which I came second in because I used up my energy too early when someone overtook me at the beginning and slowed down towards the end; And the relay where I took on the final stretch towards the finish line but it was no good. My team were all far too slow and by the time I got the baton, the fifth years were already crossing the finish line.

I was happy that I did well all around though. Only one of the failures was my fault so it could have been worse. The coach could see how disappointed I was and let me take out my frustration on the long jump and high jump just for fun though and in the end, I won the silver medal for second place overall, so I was in a much better mood when I returned to the stands later on.

Once the last event that required the pitch was over with, the organisers called for another break so they could clear the green and set up the stage.

We ran to our rooms to get changed out of our sweaty competition uniforms and into something more festival appropriate. Luckily I'd had the insight to buy the girls festival clothing when we visited Harumachi in the summer so we changed into our short yukata's: Blue for Rukia, Red for Momo and Deep purple for me. Apparently, Renji didn't get the memo that this was an occasion for fancy dress.

Kira was dressed up in his plain navy blue yukata and Renji was once again in his lazy pants, as I liked the call them. The same clothes that he used to lounge around while studying in our room or the downstairs lounge.

I rolled my eyes and made various jokes about him losing his last few brain cells in Zanjutsu and offered to go help him look around the arena for them, to which I pushed into a bush along the side of the path in revenge.

We spent an hour wandering around on the north side of the massive area of the grounds that had been consumed by the festival, still picking leaves and twigs out of my hair and clothes as we strolled. We brought plenty of sweets to snack on throughout the coming shows and but managed to hold back from stuffing our faces on real food so we could enjoy the ramen later tonight.

To get into the festival spirit I brought each of us animal masks to go with our outfits. A dog for Renji, a fox for Kira, a rabbit for Rukia, a bear for Momo, and a cat for myself, though we only wore them on the sides of our heads instead of our faces so we could still communicate.

Our first point of call was the apple boobing beneath mine and Rukia bedroom windows. Luckily, they were about to start a round as we approach and I rushed to join in. Immediately I realised I was too small to reach the water unless I climbed onto the side of the pool on my tiptoes and sucked in my gut.

Seeing me struggle, Renji took it on himself to ' _help_ ' by hoisting me up by my ankles and dripping me headfirst into the pool while I squealed and held my skirt down over my black shorts.

At first, I screamed and cursed him, then the unintentional teamwork paid off in both distracting the howling crowd and letting me reach more apples faster.

By the end, the game master was laughing so hard he didn't question the blatant cheating, so I had pulled out enough apples to win a dunked toffee apple for each of us to snack on.

"You're welcome," Renji grinned as we wandered back to the arena.

"If I didn't love toffee you'd be dead right now," I assured him as I ringed out my sopping hair while Rukia held my apple. "If I die of hypothermia I'm going to haunt you."

"Get over it, it's not even cold"

I glanced up at the sky which was now darkening as the sunset past the academy buildings to our backs. I had been a glorious autumn day and the sky was clear with stars starting to twinkle like split milk. A wonderful night for some fun and games.

"Let's hope it stays that way," I said smiling pointedly at the other three behind Renji's back.

There wasn't long left to wait until they finished setting up the stage for the ceremony as well as smaller flat floor stages scattered around the grass for clubs to showcase the best talent after the formalities.

We resumed our seats in the stands and I realise for the first time that this would be our very first open-air show and our biggest audience yet and most of them were here because of us if the rumours Shuhei passed on were to be believed.

Butterflies begin to swirl in my stomach. It wouldn't be long until that big stage at the centre of the green would be all ours.

An announcer called out loudly on the speakers that the ceremony would begin shortly and for everyone to return to the arena. The floodlights dimmed around the edges of the stadium to focus on the two rows of seats where the remaining sixth years were gathering on the green and I put our escape plan into action.

"Ugh... Guys... I don't feel so good..." I whined and my stomach gave a convincing grumble. I shot a look at Rukia, Momo and Kira to confirm that it was time.

"Oh no, have you been eating too much again?" Kira sighed.

"No, I had like three chicken wings and I think they didn't agree with me..."

"Maybe they weren't cooked properly?" Momo asked.

"Weird... I feel fine…" Renji frowned tapping his stomach as if to ask for confirmation.

I made a heaving motion and the girls burst out of their seats taking me by the shoulders just as the people in the seats immediately around me made attempted to duck under their chairs at my wretching.

"Uh-oh, we better get you out of here right now!" Rukia said a little too over theatrically.

"Yeah, we can't have you puking all over the audience!" Momo agreed steering me towards the stairs.

"But the graduation!" Renji said as we hurried away.

I continued to cough enough to pop a lung. "I doubt anyone will miss us if it means preventing a mass vomiting chain reaction. We'll be back as soon as she's okay!" Momo promised.

Once we were out of the arena I dropped my act and rolled my eyes at Rukia. "Are you kidding me? Is that the best acting you can do? That was so painfully obvious!"

"Hey, you get what you pay for alright!"

"I didn't pay- oh.. I see your point. Anyway let's move before anyone catches us"

Instead of heading to the dorms for me to hug the toilet we took a sharp left and scurried along behind the stalls that were pressed up against the arena's outer wall, slipping through the shadows though it was only a precaution as everyone seemed to be inside the walls by now.

We went around the outer perimeter to the other entrance that was only being used by the organisers to bring equipment in and out, but thankfully our stage hand's were waiting for us at the entrance ready to smuggle us across the grounds to the backstage area as planned.

It was hilarious really, the three of us concealed under a blanket that was draped over the top of a trolley that would usually carry heavy equipment. Oh, the things we went through to keep our secret.

The back door was a jar with a few officials moving around but no one questioned our attendance so we slipped inside and headed straight to an area that was roped off as a changing room with black curtains where our outfits were already waiting for us. As we finished changing we heard the crowd begin to applaud at the arrival of the Head Captain to begin the ceremony and we hurried to the side of the stage to watch from front row seats among all of the curtains and equipment.

From this position, we could see the audience, the students, the Head Captain and all of our musical instruments set up towards the back of the stage.

"Where is Kira?" I asked nervously squinting towards our side of the stands as if I would see his platinum blonde hair for this distance.

"He'll be here soon, he'll find a way," Momo assured me but I was getting increasingly nervous. If he didn't turn up we would have to play crappy prerecorded backing music.

Then just before we were due to be called on stage, he slipped through the back door panting.

"Sorry, Renji was doing his best mosquito impression,"

"What did you tell him?"

"That I was worried about you because you're all scared of puke so I had to go and clean up after you."

We shrugged. "Nothing better than a little white lie"

Then the Head Captain's voice brought us to attention as he called up each student one by one to receive their diplomas.

"Aoga Ishinowa, first degree with honours, Squad Seven, Sixth seat." The applause for good old Aoga was polite at best and he accepted the scroll that bore his diploma with a respectful bow to the Head Captain.

Soon they got to: "Head Girl Kanadeko Kanisawa, first degree with honours, Squad one, Third seat." He read her name louder than those before her and I had no doubt that she was easily his favourite student after being the Head of everything and upholding law and order so tightly, hence why she had been given such a high position in Head Captain's own squad which would no doubt afford her similar law upholding privileges in the future. The applause for her was louder from the Soul Reaper side than it was from the students, who were less impressed by her rank and more relieved to be getting rid of an ex-tyrant.

Then they finally made it to Shuhei. "Head Boy Shuhei Hisagi, first degree with honours, Squad nine, Third seat." Now the crowd roared. Shuhei has been by far the most popular senior and well respected by most, even teachers.

He took his diploma with a bow raised it in the air for his people to see triumphantly, like a sports star showing off a trophy and the crowd applauded harder.

I'd never seen him smile so brightly and my heart twinged to think I would be losing such a good friend when he moved out in a couple of days. As he headed toward the stairs he did a double-take towards us at the edge of the stage and mouthed: "What the hell are you doing here?!" But didn't have time to hear our reply. We just grinned and waved mischievously instead.

When they finally got to the end, the Head Captain made a speech about how the academy continued to churn out exceptional talent, how we must continue to work hard and inspire the younger generation and ended by wishing the graduates the best of luck in the future.

"And finally, our school's girl band Emerald Eclipse would like to say a few words..." He said looking slightly confused as if someone had just floated the message to him via paper aeroplane.

The three of us did our little good luck victory hug before marching out into the stage for our largest audience yet. The crowd went berserk and for the first time, I realised that Shuhei had been right. They had come for us. Our popularity had spread like wildfire into the city and they took the opportunity to see us on our home turf. We waiting for the tumult to subside before I began speaking, Momo and Rukia hovered on either side of me in front of their microphone stands.

"Thank you, everybody, for being here today. I'm not very good with words, but I am good at writing songs and I wanted to do a special little something to thank our seniors for their hard work and dedication. Without everyone's efforts, this year wouldn't have been the amazing experience it has been. So, I wrote this song to show my gratitude not only for those who will be moving on but for everyone! Please enjoy."

Kira exited from behind the curtain at the back of the stage seated himself at the piano in his black band outfit, identical to Shuhei's and Aoga's with a plain black hoodie to cover his hair, black trousers and a masquerade mask covering his face. You could almost hear the crowd's silent anticipation as we took a moment to breathe before signalling to begin.

It wasn't what they were expecting. Usually, our music was an upbeat, fast-paced rock-pop fusion with hints of techno that made the crowd jump wildly, but this song was sweet, simple and almost angelic compared to our other material. I closed my eyes focusing on the melody as Kira played us in.

"Cheer's for loooove!~ I'm glad we are here; This is the place of our todaaaay~ Cheer's for loooove!~ We've only just begun! I'll still be counting on you tomorrow

We have yet to reach the goooooal~~"

Kira continued playing the soft, warm melody of our song to the crowd as I looked out at all the student's, the memories of the past year spent here in my mind.

Kira opened Momo's entrance with a soft "Now!~" as we agreed on backstage because she felt too nervous to nail the timings alone.

"Cheer's for looove!~ With unfailing courageeee~ let's enjoy the present tiiiime~."

Followed on quickly by Rukia, stood at my other shoulder.

"Cheer's for loooove!~ We can try our best from heeere~, so wave goodbye to yesterday, Come oooon~, let's face what's aheeeead~~"

As Rukia held her last note I looked them in the eyes and made a split-second decision.

Were we hiding like this? Disguised as someone were not, as characters that aren't real when this song was to show our gratitude to our classmates and unite everyone.

Realistically I knew that Shuhei, the manager who had made this whole project come to life, leaving us would be the end of our current band anyway and the start of something new, so there and then I decided to end the charade.

I pulled my wig off and net cap, letting my real long poisonous purple-black maine fall free and once again the crowd erupted with a collected gasp and then applause, completely surprised by the shocking move. Momo and Rukia looked surprised too and pulled off their wigs as I threw mine to the ground below the stage.

"Now, everyone together!" I shouted into the mic with renewed enthusiasm and in unison, we sang.

"La Laaa La~ La-La-La-La-La-La Laaa~ La La La~ La La La~ La-La-La-La-La-La Laaa Laa~ Laa La Laa~"

A projector screen fell behind us on stage, showing pictures of our classroom's, the academy grounds, the lake and huge pink blossom tree, the ceremony hall we usually performed in, the dining halls, the clubrooms... every place that made this school home.

I was still singing with my eyes closed but I could feel the emotion in the air as everyone sang along. I was sure that everyone's happy memories would be playing In their minds just as mine were. All those fun times we had going shopping, studied together, hung out in the lounge, pranked each other in the corridors, sneaking around when we shouldn't have been... all the times I had escaped in the middle of the night just for the thrill of it. This year had been everything I had dreamed of and more. All thanks to the wonderful people around.

"La-La-Lah-La-La-La Laa~ Laa-Laa-Laa-Laa-Laa-Laa-Laa-Laa-Laa La-Laaaa~" We ended, dragging out the last sweet note, lost in it as the resounding note faded out from Kira's fingers, and we all took the moment to enjoy. I glanced over to see both of my friends with tears streaming down their cheeks and I couldn't hold mine any longer.

The crowd cheered and the front row of students that the song was dedicated to all got to their feet.

I looked down and saw unmistakable tears in Shuhei's grey eyes as Aoga patted him heavily on the shoulder while biting his lip. Kanisawa seemed to be clenching her teeth to stop her lip from wobbling and a few rows behind them I caught sight Nishizono who looked to be in complete shock while rubbing the tears away with her uniform sleeve.

I glanced up at the stands to look for Renji but I couldn't see his scarlet hair anywhere. My heart dropped. I wanted to see his reaction at our reveal but what if he had gone to look for us instead of staying to watch the show?

We took our bows, Kira joining us without his masquerade mask and I turned to the mic for some final words. "My name is Kimiko Murasaki, first-year and lead singer and guitarist of Emerald Eclipse. This is Momo Hinamori," I said pointing to her, "Rukia Abarai, our backing vocals and dancers," I said turning to my other side, "And finally our Pianist, Kira Izuru!"

There was a great deal of cheering, especially after my spotlight earlier in the day and Momo and Kira's near wins in Kido and Kendo.

"Thank you for everything! Thank you for supporting us over these past few months and helping us settle in. And good luck students in your future endeavours. But more importantly... IT'S PARTY TIME!"

The crowd cheered again as Kira helped us to retrieve our guitars from backstage.

I gestured towards Shuhei and Aoga to come up and join us as the bass and drums were revealed from behind the black stage curtain. They both ran up onto the stage to join us, hugging us tightly.

We were scheduled to perform right now anyways, but they hadn't been expecting our little introduction. Looking like overwhelmed kids in a candy store we went into full-on band mode performing our full setlist of eight songs. No hesitation, just fun and energy.

The crowd began to filter out of the stands to join us on the field after the chairs had been removed to open up the grounds.

As far as I could see people bounced and jumped and moved to our heavier, upbeat music and after a while, we kinda forgot just how large the audience was. It didn't even phase me anymore, as long as I had the energy to play and run around on stage I didn't care.

I finally spotted a splash of scarlet off to the left side of right in front of the stage and there stood Renji, jumping with the crowd, waving to get our attention.

His mouth was gaping open in dumb speechlessness and I laughed brightly at his reaction, exactly what I had been expecting. It was hard to believe that he had gone so long without getting in the slightest bit suspicious. I winked and bobbed my tongue out cheekily at him as I pranced around the stage.

* * *

A/N: *Blows nose loudly* I'm not crying, you're crying! If you watched the clip anyways. That anime always breaks my heart. It made more sense to use the English translation here and there should be English covers on youtube too. I also kinda put together a list of song that Emerald Eclipse would perform in the bleach world, though I'll only put them here if people want them. They're all Jrock/Jmetal/Jpop stuff.

Almost there, school is nearly over~ Little bit more action upcoming in the next chapter which is already in 80% draft so shouldn't take long.


	43. Aftermath

**Chapter 43 - Aftermath**

We finished our set and stood around panting for air while the ocean of people on the ground still buzzed with energy, all on their feet jumping around like children in a ballpark and the magnitude of the occasion hit me. I was so proud of everything we had achieved.

Shuhei grabbed me from behind in a big squeezing hug and began spinning me around in circles causing me to squeak and squeal with giddy happiness.

"Thank you, Superstar! You made one of my dreams come true. I knew I was right to choose you!" he yelled into my ear over the tumult.

"You're welcome!" I grinned up at him, my voice cracking from the effort.

Rukia and Momo ran into our hug and we waddled there for a moment just letting it sink in. Aoga and Kira, who had joined us to play piano and keyboard for a couple of the songs, joined us just as the stage lights went down. The crowd groaned and began their usual routine of calling for an encore but we couldn't have done it even if we wanted to. We were completely exhausted.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Kira suggested over the hum of activity off stage.

We hurried to the changing room to get out of our costumes and soon heard a hum of commotion outside. I poked my head out from behind the curtains to find Kanisawa forcing her way into the private back-stage area with officials trying to stop her.

"I am the Head Girl, I will go wherever I like!" She snapped sternly and they backed down like scorned puppies. I watched her storm over to Shuhei and prod him in the chest angrily. "I should have known you were behind this!"

"So what? We were just having fun Kana, relax"

"I thought I was losing my mind when you assured me you had nothing to do with the band!"

"The secrecy was all part of the performance... Ya know, the element of mystery and stuff," he shrugged apologetically. "I thought you'd put a stop to it if you knew so I hid it from you…"

"Shuhei!" She yelled. I could visualize steam coming out of her ears. "We're a team! We are supposed to keep each other in the loop!"

"It all worked out in the end! Everyone enjoyed it, didn't they?" he argued.

"After many school rules were broken and I was deceived for almost a year!"

I ducked back into the changing room and hurried to pull my festival Yukata back on before hurrying out to rescue Shuhei while tying my sweat-soaked hair back in a tight ponytail that exposed my forehead. "Sorry Headgirl, but we really wanted to complete the project..." I jumped in giving her my best sweet and innocent pleading look.

She turned to me and smirked. "It was you all along... I should have known," she muttered as if her world had been shattered.

"They're good at hiding," Aoga concluded.

"Please don't give us detention!" Momo and Rukia squeaked bowing their heads respectfully low. I nudged them in the side and they straightened up. Whatever our punishment was to be, it was worth it and we would serve our sentence with our heads held high, not grovelling for forgiveness for accomplishing something awesome.

Just then there was another commotion at the door and Renji burst through panting and staring at us, his mouth still wide with shock.

"Hey, what's up?" I said sweetly.

"What's up?! What the hell do you think is up?! I just found out that my sister and best friends are the members of a famous rock band that I have been following for months and I had no idea!" he said marching towards us.

"Bro, you are so dense." Kira sighed.

"The signs were there, you were just too stupid to read them," I laughed and he dived on me pulling me into a painful nuggie, pushing his knuckles into my hair.

"Ooooouuuww!"

"You should get detention for the next five years for pulling the wool over our eyes!"

"I'm with Abarai, just this once." Kanisawa agreed standing behind him with her arms folded firmly.

"What were you thinking, huh?! Why did he get to know and not me!?" Renji asked jabbing a finger at Kira when he stopped torturing me. "All this time you were all sneaking off to the music club together, weren't you!?"

Kira slipped behind Aoga as if hiding from view would remove his involvement in our devious plot.

"Because you can't keep a secret for crap!" Rukia yawned. "Honestly, Brother, we would have lasted five minutes with you blabbing your mouth all over the campus."

"You have no faith in me at all, do you? I could have been an extra band member!" he grunted moodily.

"He's only pissed because he has to take down the posters of the band from his bedroom wall," Kira said slyly, his head momentarily reappearing from behind Aoga's brick wall body and Renji went white as a sheet. We all gasped, scandalised.

"ABARAI!" Kanisawa squeaked. "Unacceptable! Your Sister is in those posters!"

"T-that's bullshit! He's lying!"

"I wondered where the posters on the Iron dorm noticeboard had been disappearing to... I never took you for a thief Abarai," Shuhei smirked wiggling his eyebrows.

"...There's a picture of me on your bedroom wall!?" I asked quietly turning bright red.

"No- I-I didn't do it, I didn't know it was you!" he was sweating profusely now.

"So you did do it but unknowingly?" Aoga corrected him and he started to back away towards the door.

"Renji..." Rukia snarled looking a mixture of furious and embarrassed.

"Sis! Look I can explain!"

"You can explain after you take them DOWN!" and she charged at him like a bull. He dashed away into the sunset, probably in the direction of the dorm so not too meet the painful end of 'death by angry Sister'.

"Well... that was awkward," Kira sniffed reappearing fully.

"Coward," I muttered heading for the door myself and they all followed.

* * *

Laughing hysterically we all left the stage and spent the next hour watching some of the club performances. There was everything from cheerleading and gymnastics, to speed origami and a Kabuki show put on by our close friends in the Theatre club. Even the Flower Arranging show, judged by Captain Unohana as Shuhei had mentioned before, was fascinating to watch. If you could imagine any show or activity, it was happening in that arena.

I felt like I was back home at one of Harumachi's seasonal festivals, only on a far bigger scale, but unlike Harumachi I couldn't enjoy it in peace.

I knew that people would have approached Jade for autographs if I was still in costume, but it was getting irritatingly difficult to get around the place when people kept constantly pulling us over for autographs and to talk about the show and our reveal. We even had reporters from the Seireitei jumping on us with notepads to ask us personal questions that would no doubt end up in the papers the tomorrow morning.

So eventually we put our animal masks on hoping that people wouldn't recognize us, and it did work most of the time. But our group of oddballs with very distinct hair colours and heights stood out like a sore thumb especially when Rukia and Renji rejoined us.

Rukia looked irritated but satisfied.

"Did you burn them?" I asked hopefully.

"No, that would class as arson, but I did tear them into a thousand little pieces never to be viewed again," she said triumphantly. "His bedroom on the other hand… that'll take an army to fix."

"Shut up," he groaned refusing to look at her.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear you breaking the rules, again," Kanisawa said pointedly and they both shut up.

Once the club shows were done we left the arena to walk around the rest of the festival grounds. As promised we made a beeline for the ramen stand and managed to fit the whole group in for one big hearty meal... and it all went downhill from there.

Shuhei decided to order alcohol with his meal… then Kira tried some and brought one for himself, then Renji, who really liked it and ordered one too but made me try some to see if it would knock me out. I didn't but it was disgustingly bitter, so Shuhei continually ordered different beverages until we found one that I liked, something called Cider which was sweet and fruity like fizzy juice.

Unfortunately, I drank it at the same pace as juice, my naïve mind not believing that it would affect me.

I'd never really drunk alcohol before, seeing as I was expected to set an example for my villagers back home and I couldn't afford to find out I was a rowdy drunk, which I was. A very loud, very giggly, very hyperactive drunk and we snowballed into raucous laughter for the rest of the evening. But it didn't matter anymore. We were celebrating and it wasn't like we were the only drunks.

I spotted the two Soul Reaper women that got out of the carriage with Lieutenant Kaien earlier, the one that looked like she was related to Kaien and the blonde girl with the pink scarf, practically carrying each other arm in arm to each bar one by one. This just seemed like one big excuse for the Reapers to get bladdered.

Kanisawa couldn't cope with our rulebreaking any longer but couldn't bring herself to stop our celebration, so she conveniently disappeared to find her girlfriends after finishing her ramen.

Once we were done with our food and on our fifth drink each we moved on to the festival games which were proving rather difficult in our inebriated states.

First was the shooting game where shelves were set up with green plastic cups balancing in stacks, surrounded by colourful decorations and all the toys that were up for grabs to anyone who could knock down all of the targets within the time limit using ping-pong balls for ammo.

Renji challenged Kira to a round and promised that if either of them won they would let Momo or Rukia choose a prize. Rukia had seen the giant Chappy the Bunny plushie, who I realized was the character she tended to doodle on any surface she could put a pen to, in the corner of the stand and fell in love with it trying to climb over the counter and snatch it off the wall much to the game master's horror, which gave Renji the real and daunting challenge of scoring over 600 points to keep her quiet. Momo was less ambitious and chose a cute giant teddy bear for only 300 points.

Of course, after all of Renji's bragging that he was awesome, he failed miserably and didn't manage to win even a pack of sweets, but surprisingly Kira won the teddy bear by just enough points and Momo was over the moon.

I gave Renji the opportunity for a second chance to make up for dunking me in the apple bobbing pool earlier and Shuhei decided to jump on the challenge too, assuring me that if Renji failed he would succeed. So the competition got very heated. They both failed over and over and over again but they were so focused on one-upping each other that they continued until finally Shuhei got 500 points, the lowest amount for a prize and I jumped in to stop them from trying to go higher.

I chose a small black and red Maneki-Neko lucky cat plushie and made them call it a day.

We all started to feel a little bit dizzy and found a resting place near the lakeside, which in hindsight wasn't the best idea.

Before the night ended Rukia managed to fall into the lake, I fell flat on my butt in the mud and Momo tried to chase a duck hiding in the reeds into the water while flapping her arms and making quacking sounds, and that's the part I could remember.

It got to the point where Shuhei and Kira started to get teary-eyed talking about good old memories from their childhoods like a pair of old grandparent and I walked headfirst into a tree trunk and started crying like a toddler, so Renji, the only one who could manage his liquor, made us call it a night long after midnight struck.

* * *

One minute I was in the festival grounds with all the glowing lanterns, pretty sights and wonderful smells, the next I was waking up in my bed in my underwear with my muddied Yukata discarded on the floor.

I went to sit up but my head pounded against my skull and I flopped back down. I couldn't remember a thing but the headache thumping away at my brain like a drum told me that we must have had fun. I didn't have the energy to get out of bed so when Momo came knocking later that afternoon suggesting that food may help the sickness we finally forced ourselves to move.

Curiously, Rukia seemed fine in the sense of hangovers but instead seemed down, almost like she had received bad news or something.

"Hey, how you feeling?" I asked gently breaking our awkward silence as we headed into the dining hall where we would no doubt find the guys waiting for us.

"I'm okay… you?" she said. Not what I was expecting. I was expecting her to start reminiscing about the events of the previous day at the very least, but nothing. Just a forlorn expression.

"I feel like death."

"Not surprising really… we drank a lot," Momo reasoned.

"Understatement of the year," Renji scoffed overhearing us as we approached the table.

"No one asked you." I argued feebly.

"Being your babysitter for the night, I think I deserve an input,"

"Babysitter?"

"You don't remember, do you?" Kira asked with a cringing smile.

"No… do I want to?" I asked hesitantly.

"Probably not, it's not pretty…"

"But I'm gonna tell you anyway. YOU-" Renji said pointing at me forcefully. "Cannot control yourself and are never drinking again!"

"Oh come on, I couldn't have been that bad..."

"First you a dropped drink and broke the glass which we had to pay for," he started.

"Then you spilt another drink all down your dress," Kira continued.

"Then you pushed Rukia off the swing instead of pushing her gently,"

"Then you laughed when Rukia fell in the lake instead of helping her out,"

"Then you dropped another drink,"

"Then you mistook a tree for your Sister, walked into it headfirst, started crying and tried to feed it doughnuts to say sorry." Renji finished.

"And thats without mentioning what these two did, so we made you go to bed." Kira finished.

"Except you wouldn't go to bed," Shuhei's voice said from behind me and I felt him pull on the back of my chair making the front legs lean up and my heart bounced.

"Hey!" I complained.

"You were acting like a spoilt toddler who didn't wanna go home from the party, so while we helped Rukia and Momo home, Renji had to carry you to bed over his shoulder, causing you to puke in my direction which almost hit me."

I nearly snorted my soup up my nose, conveniently ignoring the ugly details. "He did what!?"

"Why do you two have to go and drop me in it every time!? I thought we agreed not to talk about this… ya know, dorm rules and stuff."

"Come on man, we all know you've been breaking the dorm rule all year and I'm only Head Boy until tomorrow morning, you're lucky I'm in a good enough mood to let it slide" Shuhei teased.

"Hold on a second, back up!" I said levelling my chair and dragging Shuhei by his sleeve to stand beside Renji so I could see him. "YOU LET HIM IN MY ROOM ALONE WHEN I WAS BLIND DRUNK!?"

"What the hell do you think I am? Some sick pervert!?" Renji complained.

Momo snorted a laugh into her soup. "You're the one who had posters of us on your walls like some crazy stalker,"

"That's different! That was fan appreciation! As if I would ever do anything bad to anyone, especially a friend!"

"I woke up with my clothes on the floor!" I complained a little too loudly and they all gasped before hushing me to quiet down so we weren't overheard.

Renji sighed. "Look, you were being a complete brat about being covered in mud so I help you out of the dress-thingy… then you decided you weren't done with the party and went to leave with me again so I locked you in your room. Happy now?"

"No! I'm not some freakin animal!"

"That's debatable," Kira muttered under his breath.

"Well, I think its best if we keep Kimi on the fruit juice from now on, for everyone's sake. Now, in other more important news-" Shuhei said pulling a chair from the table behind ours as its occupants left, probably fed up of our noisiness. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded square of paper and handed it to me.

I took a moment to unfold the numerous sheets, lay them out on the table and groaned:

"Oh god…"

There we were on the front page and the following three pages of today's newspaper under the headline:

 _ **Mysterious Girl Band Reveal True Identities At Last!**_

The four-page spread was littered with various photos of our performance and one of us walking around after the show, thankfully before we got drunk. Next to the photos were in-depth columns detailing everything they knew about us, real personal profiles as apposed to character profiles that had been in previous editions of the paper and even theories of how we formed and kept our existence so quiet.

I skimmed over it and handed it off for Rukia and Momo to read but they folded it away after a few brief glances.

"It could be worse but my head hurts too much to care…"

"To summarize, they love you," Shuhei said simply.

"That's good to know… Shame its all over now…" Momo sighed.

Shuhei raised an eyebrow. "Who said it was over?"

"Well, you and Aoga are leaving so we will need a new manager, bassist and drummer… and quite frankly no one could replace you. Not to mention the whole identity reveal" I said mockingly, using my hands to frame my face as if posing for a picture.

"So? They still want to hear your music no matter what you look like. You should stick with it especially after working so hard,"

"Id love to, but its something we will have to discuss, right guys?" I asked Momo.

She nodded enthusiastically but Rukia… once again she seemed cold and distant like something else was heavy on her mind.

"Ruuuukiaa?" I tried again waving a hand in front of her face.

"Oh.. yeah, right" she muttered emotionlessly.

I frowned, concern now creeping in. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been acting… odd."

"I'm fine… just tired."

"Well at least you made an effort to come and eat, even if it is a few hours late," Renji said, but I glanced at her untouched soup as she stirred the creamy broth for the millionth time. There was no effort there whatsoever.

"Well, I feel better now but we should probably get back and sleep the rest of it off. We'll get up to say goodbye in the morning, okay Shuhei?"

"You better, I won't be pleased if I don't get my leaving party," he said winking at me and we left.

* * *

I fully intended to have an early night so I could get up early and say goodbye to our senior friends in the morning, but before I could even get into my PJ's the black bead bracelet on my wrist began to burn.

I groaned loudly. "Why?! I just want to sleep!" I tore open my curtains and glanced at it under the moonlight.

"Belltower, immediately." Is all it said.

 _ **Why in the Soul King's name would the Commander be calling us now?**_ _**Especially as many of the class were due to be leaving for the Seireitei in the morning.**_

Unfortunately, I was bound by an unwritten contract to attend all meetings or else forfeit my spot in the secret club so I headed out with Ruby strapped to my waist, only taking a moment to put my mask and hoodie on. I was already wearing cropped black leggings which would have to do.

I arrived at the bell tower less than ten minutes later but to my surprise the place was empty.

I had fully expected for people to arrive before me as usual, It wasn't even close to curfew time after all. Many were still in clubs and at dinner. I peered around waiting for someone else to appear, but no one did.

"Hello?" I called out hesitantly with a bad feeling in my gut.

"Boo-" A deep voice whispered in my ear and I whirled around unsheathing Ruby like lightning. My instinctual defensive strike was blocked by a well-placed Repulse Kido shield that rebounded my sword off the attacker's arm and I jumped back to gain distance.

Fang stood there in the centre of the tower rooftop where I'd been moments ago examining me deeply from behind the mask and long scarf that identified him. After a few tender moments of circling each other, instead of the usual taunts and harsh insults, he burst out laughing. A familiar laugh that was not unkind in any way like I would have expected.

"What the hell is your problem?! What's so funny?!" I demanded still crouched in a guard stance, fully aware of the underhanded tactics he was capable of.

"You are! I can't believe it's you. You're the last person on earth I would have expected to be the great Jade- Icy cold assassin in training, hollow hunting prodigy, rule breaker extraordinaire. Actually scratch that, I should have known it ages ago just from the rule-breaking, but I suppose I didn't want to believe it-"

"You can't be..." I said in absolute disbelief. That voice... It wasn't the bitterly deceitful voice of Fang that I'd become accustomed to, it couldn't be...

"SHUHEI?!"

'Fang' as I'd come to know him lowered his hood, and sure enough there stood the dark midnight navy black hair and tattooed face of the one-person I had come to respect and love as one of my best friends over the last year. A guy with whom I had spent almost every evening and come to know quite well, or so I had thought.

"Sup, Superstar" he grinned.

I ripped my hood and mask off too and stared at him, my mouth almost hit the floor.

"I don't understand... You're Fang?! The one who tried to kill me and did everything to make me fail?! But why?!"

He scratched his head guiltily. "Fang... Is that what you've been calling me? I kinda like it." He mused. "Yeeeah, sorry about that. It's a long story but I kinda came to my senses."

"I don't give a damn how long your story is! Explain, NOW."

"Alright, chill. So basically, I've been in the Stealth Club for a couple of years now. I kinda enjoyed patrolling the school out of hours under my student council privileges so I applied to the Stealth Club at one of the welcome parties, just because I felt like exploring the place some more without needing a reason.

The image of the night I found out about the club flashed into my mind and I completely understood the feeling that had lured in his curiosity from that suspiciously shadowy booth.

"Once the Commander found out who I was she kept me pretty close and I became her inside source on academy business,"

"That's why she treated you like her Golden Boy!"

He snorted. "Wow, is that jealousy I hear?"

"Shut up!" I pouted. "I wanted to be Golden Girl and you were acting like a complete prick, making me look like a clumsy toddler!"

"Well, in all fairness I wouldn't be lying if I called you clumsy,"

"The story!" I demanded to redirect his attention away from my weaknesses.

"Oh right. So, admittedly it was a dickish move, but I tried to get you dropped from the club. You were in my way and you annoyed me because you were always on my tail with the same ideas, and at that time I was going for the gold medal. You were the only one standing in my way, but like they say: Great minds think alike."

"Gold medal?" I asked ignoring the compliment.

"Do you want the story or not? I'm getting to that part." He complained and I made a zipping motion across my lips. "I was going all out for the prize. Then that night came where you used me like an icicle pin cushion in the woods…"

I flinched. "If I'd have known it was you-"

"If I'd have known it was you I wouldn't have tried to scare you to death," he cut across me. "I deserved that beating, looking back on it,"

"Does that mean you weren't trying to kill me?" I blinked confusedly.

"No, of course not. As if I would get away with murder during a secret, illegal club activity on school property. I was trying to make you quit, get scared and throw in the towel. Then you went all crazy ice-witch on me and I knew you weren't messing around."

"Like hell was I! I was determined to knock you off your perch!"

"And that you did. My scare tactics backfired on me. I'd never felt such raw power, but I never connected it to Kimiko Murasaki because I'd never felt your spiritual signature before"

"My what?"

"Are you serious? You've been here almost a year and you don't know what I'm talking about?"

"Just explain!"

"Every Soul Reaper has Spirit Energy which gives off spiritual pressure in the atmosphere around them. Everyone's energy feels different. Recognising someone's energy is like being able to recognise someone by their voice, fingerprint or signature."

"Ooohh I know about that, I just never heard anyone call it that. Like that night with the flags that had the Commander's signature all over them,"

"Exactly. Well, I recognized yours during the hollow attack in the World of the Living exam. There was no way I could mistake your ice abilities…that feeling of the air freezing your lungs… your eyes when you attacked the hollow."

I flinched. "My damn eyes. Iv always hated them."

"There's nothing wrong with your eyes, they're unique like frozen ocean water," he said reassuringly and I blushed. I wondered how many girls in this school would die to have Shuhei compliment them like that.

"Thanks..."

"I'm talking about your eyes when you exert your power. They glow fluorescent ice blue. I only know one person who does that: Jade of the Stealth Club. So I put two and two together and realised it wasn't just a coincidence that you had picked Jade as a stage name on the same day that you picked it as your name for the Stealth Club, which so happened to be your favourite pastime: Rule-breaking."

"Daaammnn" I whistled. "So that's how you worked out that it was me? That's some good deduction skills right there"

He nodded. "It made sense, especially with your height and stature. I should have suspected it from the start. But even before I knew it was you I decided to give you a chance. You have a lot of potential in this field and I'm just doing it for fun after all. When you beat me that night I understood that my talents could be used elsewhere and someone else might be better suited for the position."

"Which is the one thing I specifically told my members not to do: Join for fun." Came a female voice.

I turned to see the Commander standing behind me as if she had been there all along.

"Commander!" I said panicking. I'd completely forgot why I was here, and I was unmasked. I scramble to adjust myself, but she held up a hand.

"You needn't bother, Murasaki. We are alone."

"Ma'am? Why did you call me here?" I asked glancing between the two of them in confusion.

"Well, as Shuhei was explaining in the long version of the story," she said rolling her eyes at him from behind her mask, "We've been keeping an eye out, trying to figure out who Jade really is. So, imagine our surprise when another Jade appears as another person in a disguise- or rather costume- on stage. Shuhei tried to tell me it was a coincidence, but I knew it wasn't. Until that day of the hollow invasion that is. Then he changed his tune and we kept a closer eye on you."

"I didn't really know anything about you as a fighter, despite all the time we spent together making music, so when I felt your energy and saw how fast you moved I knew it must be you."

I cringed. "I should have used a different name, then it wouldn't have been so obvious"

"The name didn't help but otherwise you were disguised well." The Commander admitted. "Shuhei had the idea of summoning you here to call you out and force you to reveal yourself,"

"And it worked like a charm," he smirked.

I gritted my teeth in anger with myself. "I was sloppy... but I'll learn my lesson for next time. More importantly, why have you been looking for me?"

"I think you know why, don't play dumb with me." The Commander said gruffly.

I sighed and lowered my head. This was it. I'd been caught finally and I wasn't in a position to fight my way out of the inevitable. "You're here to arrest me, aren't you?"

Shuhei burst out laughing again. "Why would we do that?!"

I scrambled to recover. "F-fo-for destroying the library!"

"So that was you too! I wasn't sure because you wore different clothes the first time. I figured it must have been the initiation test, but the seniors aren't included in the club until after yearly initiations, so I wasn't told anything about it."

"I changed my clothes for a reason. You and Kanisawa terrified me, pulling your Zanpakuto's on me like that! I didn't want to be recognised and punished for the destruction."

The Commander was holding back a laugh too. "No, I'm not here to arrest you and yes I do know why you would think that: Because of that night you left the academy and broke every rule in the book. By law, I should have detained you for questioning and memory replacement at minimum, but I recognized you from the club. There is no way I could put such potential to waste, so I wasn't too annoyed when my squad failed to capture you. Of course, secrecy was an issue, but who in their right mind would blabber about seeing a massive hollow outside of the academy grounds in the middle of the night in public?"

"No one. I wouldn't have been believed even if they ignored the claim of breaking curfew." I said with a relieved sigh.

I'd been glancing over my shoulder for months expecting someone to catch on and come for me, even though I'd overheard Shuhei talking about the search being called off by the Shiba family.

"So, I'm off the hook?!"

"Only if you accept my offer. Seeing as the information you obtained was only for authorized personnel, you would need to _**be**_ authorized personnel to get out of trouble,"

"Do you mean to say... You want me to be your new insider in Shuhei's place?!" I asked excitedly.

Shuhei ruffled my hair. "You're so dense, Superstar. She's offering you the gold medal."

"What gold medal? For what?"

"You really had no clue, did you? When people join this club it's because they want to join the Stealth Forces. This is their recruiting platform seeing as stealth activities are not deemed legal as school curriculum." He explained.

"The reason I have been handing out points all year is to give the high achievers the highest-ranked jobs at the end. Seeing as Shuhei here pulled out and accepted an offer from Squad Nine, you're my next high scorer."

"You're... OFFERING ME A JOB?! In the Stealth Force?!"

"Not just in the Stealth Force, I currently have a position open as the fourth seat."

"No way..." I said stunned. "Wait... _**YOU**_ have a position open? In the Stealth Forces? Squad Two? You can't be..."

The Commander finally lowered her hood, revealing a young woman with a thin face, dark eyes and long dark hair wrapped into two trailing tails by bandages. The same woman I ran away from on the night of the forest raid, only without the Captain's Haori.

"I am Captain Sui Feng of Squad Two. I don't believe we've ever met formally as I have no access to this academy due to the nature of my work."

I almost died on the spot. I had been personally tracked and recruited by the Captain of the squad I had strived to join all of my life.

I sank to one knee, finally understanding why the other members did so. I must have been the only one who hadn't known her true identity. I really was dense!

"Captain! It's an honour!"

"Took you long enough," she grumbled standing there boredly examining her nails. "So, do you accept my offer? You will graduate immediately and continue the rest of your five years in private tutelage in the Seireitei alongside your job. The only condition is that your Zanpakuto is awakened before you officially start In the position."

I didn't know what to say. I wanted to scream: Yes YES take me with you. But I thought better of it. It was the type of decision I couldn't just blindly agree to. Such a big step... And what would I say to my friends?

 _'Sorry guys I'm leaving to take my dream job in the Seireitei. Cya in a few years if I have time to remember you. Laters, have fun here in school without me!'_

No. I couldn't do that. I couldn't just walk away from them... From the life I had built and come to love here, and I still had so much to learn. So many more things to practise, techniques to perfect... I couldn't just cram in crappy, boring private tutelage between my duties when I was too tired to concentrate, without any fun or friends around to share my time with.

If I left them now I would be alone in the world. Starting from fresh all over again. I couldn't betray them like that. With these unsettling thoughts quickly I made my mind.

"With all due respect, Captain, that's a big thing to ask of me…"

She nodded. "I understand if you need some time. As long as you get back to me before the end of the school year. If not, I will need to fill the position."

"It's not that I don't want it. I do, with everything in my heart and soul... Its been my life long dream to join the Stealth Forces, but I still have so much more to do here. I can't just quit now. I can't join a high rank as a novice and slowly learn over time... That would make me a failure at my job in the beginning whereas if I joined after graduating I would be far more useful… And besides… I can't leave my friends"

"Kimi, you need to take time to think about this-" Shuhei started but I shook my head.

"If this were at the end of the sixth year I would take it in a heartbeat, and if there is a position, high or low, available when I graduate then I will take it. But now it's not the right time."

"There may not be a high position open for you when you graduate. This is a rare opportunity," the Captain reiterated.

"I understand. But I think iv made up my mind. If there is a position when I graduate will you accept me?"

"Of course. I would take on people of your calibre without question. As long as you keep up the hard work you will have an unconditional place in my ranks."

"Thank you, Captain. Then, I gratefully and respectfully decline your offer."

"Kimi!"

I ignored Shuhei, fighting to stand straight and strong and not get emotionally overwhelmed by what was happening.

"Very well. I have to say I am disappointed, but if you feel so strongly then that is your decision to make. I will continue and hire for the position but I'll continue to monitor your progress, Murasaki. Don't let me down." She went to turn away but I called her back.

"Captain! As Shuhei is leaving, will you permit me to be your new insider, so that I get to have that authorized personnel status and not be punished for my crimes? I want to assist you in any way possible!" I said standing to attention dutifully.

She paused to smile and nodded. "I would appreciate that. I will call on you as my Personal Academy Operative when I need you."

"Yes ma'am, I won't let you down!" And in a flash, she was gone.

There was silence for a moment.

"You sure about this, Superstar? Don't you think that was a bit hasty?"

"No. I have that gut feeling that everything will work out in time. Either way, I'll just climb the ranks when I get there in six years. It's like you've been telling me all year, I'm just a newbie with a cocky attitude. I couldn't be a fourth seat in a million years at my current level... But maybe when I'm older and stronger... I'll get there fairly like everyone else. No free passes!"

Shuhei smiled. "I'm gonna miss that fiery determination,"

* * *

The morning arrived quickly. I lay there most of the night thinking about what had just happened and I felt a strange mix of pride and regret. Pride that I had done so well to have the honour of an early, high ranked recruitment offer, but regret that it had come at a time in my life where I wasn't comfortable with accepting it.

But as Granny Chie always told me: Everything happens for a reason. Fate and destiny and all that stuff. I would just have to earn it properly and prove that I didn't need boosts to get me to my end goal.

When I got back from my morning run I knocked to wake the girls, but I only got one reply.

Momo rose gracefully for a change, no grunts and groans like usual, apparently she had sleep particularly soundly but her mellow mood didn't last.

"Rukiaaa! Come on, Shuhei and the others are leaving soon, we should wish them good luck," I said knocking on her door for the second time. I gave her another minute or two and opened the door to peek in. To my surprise, she was nowhere to be seen.

"...Rukia?" I mumbled in bewilderment. I hadn't seen or heard her leave. Stupidly, I looked in her closet to make sure she wasn't in one of her prankster moods, ready to jump out and scare the life out of me like last time a playful mood hit her.

Nothing. Just an empty closet. "Wait- empty?" I realised as I turned to walk out and consult Momo. I looked again. Her room was unusually bare. Most of the little trinkets and decorations she had accumulated over the last few months were gone with some of the lesser knick-knacks scattered in unusual positions. The room was a mess as if hastily rummaged through. As I scanned over the place trying to understand, I saw a small scrap of paper on her nightstand with a hastily scribbled note.

"Thank you for everything, but please continue on without me. Do not come after me."

"What the hell?" I asked out loud turning it over expecting to see a "Haha, late April fools!" Or something witty on the back.

"Momo? I think Rukia has gone-" I called calmly.

"What? What do you mean? She wouldn't have had breakfast without us-" she called from next door.

"Not that kind of gone…"

She came in and examined the note too. "I don't get it... Where is she going? What does she mean by 'go on without her'?"

"I don't know, but I don't like this at all. Come on we need to get the guys and find her," I said, urgency rising now.

We rushed out to the Iron dorms at top speed and I used my usual mud-meet-window wakeup call on Renji. He didn't bother to insult me when he opened the window. He knew it was me, but the look on my face made it clear that I wasn't there to pester him.

"What's wrong?" He said with a concerned frown. Then he realised we were minus one. "Wheres Sis?"

"Get Kira and get down here, right now," I said seriously and for once he didn't argue.

In minutes they were with us, Renji only just pulling on a sweatshirt as he ran down the stairs into the entrance hall.

"The hell's wrong?" He asked again sensing my worry.

"It's Rukia, she's gone somewhere!" Momo said handing him the note.

He did the same as me, turning it over. "Oh crap... there's no bunny doodles…" he pointed out.

"Then this is serious. We need to find her," Kira decided. "Where do you propose we start?"

"If she's leaving the academy then logic dictates that she would use the main entrance, I just hope we're not too late."

We rushed over there and amazingly found her just in time.

There she was in her uniform wheeling a small suitcase through the entrance hall in the wake of several official-looking men in black uniforms.

"Rukia!" I called as we jogged into the hall.

She turned to look at us. Her reaction told me that she had been hoping we wouldn't catch up. She stared at us like four ghosts that had popped up out of the floorboards.

"What's going on? Are you going somewhere?" I asked in confusion looking at her luggage.

"What the hell was that note about?! You had us worried!" Renji scorned disapprovingly.

"Did you not _read_ the note? I told you not to come after me," she sighed."...I'm going away."

"Away where? Like- forever away?" Momo asked.

She hesitated before nodding gravely.

My stomach dropped. _**This can't be happening… Not after everything I sacrificed last night!**_

"You can't just up and leave like that! You have a life here! You still have five years left, why would you want to give that up!?" I demanded my voice and frustration rising. She wasn't making any sense.

"Rukia-" said a tall handsome man with pale, snow-white skin and black hair that was pulled back on one side by what looked to be a string of diamonds and thick white clips. a long ice blue silk scarf very similar to my eye colour of a shimmering, fine quality lay draped loosely around his shoulders. He stood a few feet away close to the doors surrounded by what seemed to be an entourage of bodyguards.

She turned to him. "Yes, I'm coming." and without another word, she began to walk away.

I flashed forward across the room and grabbed her hand.

"No! You're not going anywhere until you explain yourself!"

"Kimi... Please don't make this any more difficult than it already is…" She pleaded. Her eyes looked heavy with... regret? So much so that they looked closer to grey than their usual violet.

"Hey, get your filthy hands off her!" one of the Soul Reaper guards commanded but I ignored him.

A crowd of early-bird students on their way to breakfast and a couple of sixth-year graduates with their luggage ready to leave for the Seireitei were gathering around the edges of the hall now but I was completely oblivious.

"Rukia, are you going to the Seireitei?" Kira asked calmly, examining the men standing imposingly behind her. As I looked around I realised he must be right. Why else would Soul Reapers be escorting her away?

"You can't! You can't just leave us like this! And you weren't even going to say goodbye?!"

"She can do as she wishes, her choice has been made." The tall man said taking a step forward.

Rage began to build in my chest. "Looks to me like _you_ made the decision for her! How about you back off and leave her alone!" I hissed venomously. I was now literally constricting Rukia's arm.

"Kimi- stand down now…" Kira said with the sort of calm urgency of someone backing away from a rearing snake.

"I'll tell you once more. Unhand Rukia or face the consequence," the man warned.

"Make me!" I spat back too furious to be intimidated.

In a flash faster than the speed of light the man vanished and reappeared beside me, forcefully wrenched my grip away from Rukia's arm before throwing me bodily to the floor on the other side of the room. I skidded to a stop just before the mesmerized crowd of onlookers causing them to scatter. Thankfully I didn't quite reach the wall, but I had landed on the same spot as the Zanjustu match with Nishizono the other day. I lay there winded, dazed and shaken, pushing my knuckles into my back to numb the pain again.

"Kimi!" Momo cried out running to my side and I heard vague cursing and muttering from the surprised audience.

"I'm okay-" I said sitting up. But when I looked down I noticed that my wrist bone was poking out at an odd angle.

"What the-!?"

"I broke your wrist. Perhaps that will teach you to know your place. Now run along and get that seen to." The man said before turning away. "Come, Rukia."

"Rukia!" Renji called as she turned away. "Don't do this...please… not like this..."

"I have to..." she murmured not looking him in the eyes.

"Is this all we mean to you?" I asked quietly as my voice cracked with flooding emotion against my will. "After everything we've done for you, all the times we've had together? We gave you the clothes on your back, Rukia! And I've lost count how many times I've saved your damn life!"

She didn't say anything for a moment and I thought perhaps the truth had hit home until she said: "You'll understand eventually."

"NO, I WON'T! IV DONE SO MUCH FOR YOU! I PUT MY LIFE ON HOLD FOR YOU!"

Her eyebrows bunched into a frown as she turned back to look at me. "What do you mean?"

Last night Captain Sui Feng of Squad Two approached me with a once in a lifetime offer to join as her fourth seat... The fourth in command of the Stealth Forces… My life long career goal and I turned it down... FOR YOU GUYS! FOR THIS LIFE THAT YOU'RE THROWING AWAY!"

The admission caused a mumble of surprise from the crowd but I ignored them, allowing Momo to help me to my feet. Even she and the guys looked stunned by this revelation.

Surprise floated in her violet eyes. "Why would you do that!? That has always been your dream so why would you throw it away so carelessly?!" She demanded, raising her voice in anger for the first time.

"Because I truly believed that you guys would do the same for me. I didn't want to sacrifice these last five years... We will never get this time back! We can't just turn back time and live them again, so I won't throw them away. I just thought that you cared about us equally… but I was wrong. You're going to throw us away like trash!"

Rukia closed her eyes, seemingly trying to call upon calmness. After a moment and a deep breath, her empty expression reemerged and she stood up straight, glaring at me. "Only fools put others before themselves. I never took you to be a fool, Murasaki, but apparently, I was wrong too."

Those words coming from the girl who I considered to be my best friend... almost like a second Sister... the coldness of the insult ripped through my heart like a poison arrow and I stood there stunned into silence, staring at her open-mouthed, then as she turned away again my temper hit boiling point.

"Fuck you then, you traitor! At least now we know what type of person you really are. If this is how you treat your family then I hope you rot away in the Seireitei as a clueless kid with no training because that's what will happen, and it's all you deser-"

Before I could finish my sentence the world began to spin and this time I did hit the wall with enough force to put a dent in the thin material. I slid to the floor and lay there clutching the pain in my back.

I didn't understand what had happened, I glanced around trying to work out how I got there when suddenly the tall black-haired man was above me with his middle and forefingers pressed together and aimed down at me. He was so fast even by my standard.

My heart skipped a beat. Instinctively I knew I was being attacked but it happened too fast to defend myself. I groped at my side for Ruby but the sword wasn't there. I hadn't come here equipped for combat.

Out of desperation, despite the rule of no fighting outside of classes, I pulled on my spirit energy but before I could force it outwards and blast him away another figure appeared next to the man and grabbed the wrist of the aiming hand.

He had been about to utter what I suspected would be an incantation but froze at the arrival of our newest guest.

Captain Aizen's sickly smiling expression came looming in to view above me.

"Now, now Captain Kuchiki. It wouldn't do for a man of your calibre to dirty his hands and reputation with the blood of a student, would it?" he smiled serenely as if suggesting that the weather would be lovely for a picnic today.

"Captain?" I gasped, my eyes widening. He wasn't wearing a white Captains cloak so it never even crossed my mind. But then again, Captain Sui Feng hadn't worn one for the last year just to conceal her identity. Perhaps that was his reason too.

He just looked like one of those rich, snobby Soul Reapers that had been born into his position, not a Captain and much less a member of one of the top noble families.

Captain Kuchiki's blank facial expression didn't change but his eyes did afford Aizen a momentary glance, then he lowered his hand.

"Very well, I suppose you have a point Captain Aizen. However, in future children who have no worth should be taught their place before they're let into the vicinity of nobility. Perhaps it would be prudent to teach manners and etiquette as a mandatory class?" He suggested.

"Perhaps it would. I will put the suggestion forward to the school council," he smiled in the tone a parent would use to keep their toddler happy.

Captain Kuchiki gave me one last cold, contemptuous glance before turning on his heel and leading the way out of the door. Without looking at me he said, driving one more knife hard into my back: "I will be having words with Captain Sui Feng. Perhaps she needs someone to do her recruiting for her in future."

I held back a sob or an angry outburst or a scream... Whatever it was that was building in my throat.

Rukia looked at me one last time and said the one thing that was enough to nail the lid to my proverbial coffin shut: "And for the record: You were never my family." Then she turned and left those great big golden doors for one last time.

The crowd around us was stunned into silence. I sat there for a moment with Momo's arms cradling me, gawping at the doors in disbelief before a hand reached down to me.

I looked up into Shuhei's kind eyes. "C'mon Superstar, let's get you out of here," he said sadly.

* * *

A/N: The end of the academy looms closer! Now does Kimi's resentment of Rukia make sense? You'll see how deeply it affects her ability to trust people and how it ties into the prologue in the next chapter :)

Not much of a fight there really, but how the hell would little munchkin Kimi face _THE_ Captain Kuchiki and survive, realistically. Better to just knock her down a peg or two instead especially as she'd had a massive confidence boost the night before. Hope the scene wasn't too underwhelming.

BlackitTamer Thank you! Glad you're enjoying!

3rdSeatofSquad2 Hi! I don't think I replied to your last review either :(

-Yep Kukaku is in Squad 11, naturally, the rest of your guest list was bang on too. The only ones who didn't show off the top of my head were Ikkaku, Yumichika, Zaraki, Yachiru, Kurotsuchi, Nemu, Komamura and Kyoraku (he was there but too busy boozing lol)

-Well, it will take a long time but Sui Feng will start to slowly rely less on her _official_ lieutenant and call on her "Special Operative" instead, keeping Omaeda mostly in the dark. Lieutenant is a big word for a tiny girl who hates the limelight unless she is in disguise xD

-Not sure if I mentioned this, but their first-ever song was Love Survive by Scandal, who did the Shoujo S and Harukaze themes. Ichirin no Hana is a YES! Ranbu no melody too, and Shoujo S just for the dance moves lol

I also adore Haruka Kanata, Rolling Star, Alones, Change, Houkiboshi, Life, Hitohira no Hanabira and I think Momo would make a better Skychord singer than Orihime! Basically, they could pull off just about any of them, except the band would have sliiighty different members if ever I bring them back in future, owed to what just happened :P

Rukia would still have Re:Pray as a solo though, just cuz its a tearjerker.

Anyways, on to the next one! Stay tuned~


	44. Fall from Grace

**Chapter 44 - Fall From Grace**

I spent most of that afternoon in the medical centre getting treated for a broken wrist, internal bruising to my back and a mild concussion from hitting my head on the wall and floor when I landed.

Shuhei had accompanied me over here to make sure I was okay, followed by my remaining friends and unfortunately Aizen, who suddenly saw the need to escort me through the building. Perhaps he thought I might continue lashing out wildly at people as if I was that angry all the time, but once Rukia was gone most of my steam fizzled away.

There was nothing more I could do so I just gave up and let my rage dissipate to be replaced by an empty, lost feeling.

I was sat on the examination bed still as a statue, staring blankly at the wall with my arms wrapped around my legs and chin on my knees still in a state of shock when Shuhei patted me on the head for one last time. He had been trying to distract me with random conversations about things that I enjoyed, like music and food. None of which I answered to, too lost in my own world to pay attention.

"I've gotta go, our carriage is due to turn up any minute. Take care of yourself, Superstar. Don't go getting into more trouble until you next see me- I can't bail you out from all the way over there," he joked light-heartedly, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the vast city beyond the academy walls to the west.

My lack of reaction put a concerned frown on his face as he backed out. I heard him vaguely tell somebody outside to keep an eye on me, then his footsteps faded into the distance. One more heart string twanged out of place in my chest. _**Another friend lost...**_ I thought feeling defeated.

Once I was healed the nurse informed me I had another visitor waiting. Thinking it was Momo, Renji or Kira I agreed to let them in, but to my horror it was Aizen. He walked in and closed the door calmly behind him.

"Are you well?" He asked pleasantly.

I felt like telling him to fuck off and mind his own business, but seeing as he may very well have saved my life back there, and I was no doubt already in enough trouble for standing up to Captain Kuchiki, I bit back the snappy retort and nodded silently.

"Good. You had a lucky escape back there. If I hadn't been investigating the commotion you may have been in far worse shape."

"I know," I said reluctantly, using my voice for the first time since arriving here. I didn't want to admit it but he was right. I doubted Kuchiki would kill me for such a minor incident in front of so many people, but he was capable of so much more than breaking wrists.

He sat in the seat beside the bed and peered at me over his glasses.

"Tell me, what gave you the impression that you would be strong enough to take on a Captain at your current level?"

"I didn't know he was a Captain. In case you didn't notice he wasn't wearing his white Haori," I snapped unable to hold back my annoyance.

"Then you thought it acceptable to speak to a stranger in that manner?"

"I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't so angry. It's not like your so-called best friend betrays you and stomps on your heart like shit every day, y'know."

Aizen ignored my profanity and grimaced empathetically.

"I understand that you took quite the emotional blow from Miss Abarai leaving, but perhaps this will teach you to think twice in similar situations in future. If you'd have kept your cool that scenario could have been avoided."

The thought of there ever being a similar situation, such betrayal, so much pain, so many witnesses to my meltdown... it made me want to hurl... or cry... or scream... I didn't know how I felt.

"There won't be a next time," I assured him.

"Hopefully not. But in future, you need to think first and act later. Irrational thinking causes danger."

"I get it. But unfortunately, that's just how I am: Hot-headed with a fiery temper."

"That's quite a surprise. I expected someone with such prominent Ice elemental energy to keep their cool in the toughest of situations." His smile gave me the impression he was trying to lighten the atmosphere by complimenting me but it felt more like a verbal slap that highlighted my biggest weakness.

"No. That's not me at all, and I can't exactly rewire my DNA." I sighed. "Look, I did a bad thing and I have myself to blame for the outcome, I understand that. Can I go now?"

He stared me down as if assessing whether my remorse was genuine. It wasn't. I couldn't care less that I had broken rules and acted inappropriately, I mean since when did that bother me before?

It seemed he realised he wasn't going to get through to me, either that or he somehow overlooked my obvious lack of fucks given.

"Very well. I am not usually one to lecture but I thought it important to put things into perspective for you. Sadly, your outburst has caught the attention of the school council and you've been awarded detention for a full week as a result."

I didn't react. I had been expecting it and detention was nothing new to me, just another opportunity to sit in silence and let my over-active imagination run wild. Only now I suspected my daydreams would be warped into negative day-mares.

"Well, I must get back to my duties. Heal well and work on that explosive temper, Miss Murasaki. I hope the next time we meet it will be under better circumstances." He said before getting to his feet to leave.

During the whole short conversation, I didn't look him in the eye once. Just being in the same room as Aizen made my skin crawl and I was afraid that I might trigger an amnesia attack of the strange dream where he stabbed me under a moonlit sky. The last thing I needed was my most hated person to see me freaking out and start questioning my sanity like everyone else no doubt was.

I was released from the medical centre a short while later and met by my friends hovering in the waiting room looking restless and stressed as they always did when one of us was paying this place a visit.

They greeted me with a deep, sincere group hug and we stood there for a moment in silence. It felt like a group of family mourning a death, but instead of feeling better in the centre of their warm embrace I felt stiff, cold, awkward and suspicious. Against my will, Rukia's harsh words rang in my mind:

 _ **"For the record, you were never my family."**_

That was in fact true. We were related no more than my favourite emerald green guitar and the frogs who croaked loudly from the pond beside the Emerald dorm entrance at night.

They were just people I lived with, placed together by the academy due to our similar scores in the entrance exam and nothing more. I was as close to the others as I was with Rukia, so what was stopping them from feeling the same and ditching me too? It would be easy for Renji, the only thing we had in common was Rukia's friendship and similar levels of skill in Zanjutsu. The same went for Kira, he was only tagging along because he had made friends with Renji. Momo just lived in the same apartment as me.

The heartache came flooding back like a knife in my chest and I ducked out of the circle hug.

"I'm going back to bed. See you tomorrow." I said, opening the hospital doors and heading out alone with them following shortly in my wake.

* * *

That night I was trying to get to sleep over all the noise in my head when suddenly my bracelet began to burn.

Usually, my immediate reaction was annoyance at the disturbance followed by excitement at the prospect of getting up to no good while the rest of the campus slept, but this time I was desperate for a distraction.

I shot up out of bed, pulled on my stealth clothes and grabbed Ruby from my desk before even looking at the message temporarily seared into my skin. I needed to get out and do something besides thinking and sleeping which is all I had done since returning from the medical centre.

To my disappointment, however, I once again found the Captain waiting for me alone at the Belltower, this time sitting comfortably on the railing overlooking the academy grounds to the west in the direction of the city.

"You called, Captain?" I asked dutifully. I intended to act normally in her presence and make it seem that everything was okay so not to let my problems drag me down in whatever mission I was about to be sent on and to not make it obvious how much I regretted declining her job offer now. Only, there was no mission.

"I did," she confirmed. "Take a seat Murasaki,"

I had the horrible feeling I was about to receive another lecture for my foul behaviour towards her fellow Captains and I really didn't want to hear it. "With all due respect Ma'am, if it's about Kuchiki and Aizen, I've already had 'the talk'."

"So I have heard. You're quite the point of conversation at the moment, aren't you?"

I didn't answer, instead, I reluctantly climbed onto the bars at her side and stared out over the sleeping campus and beyond.

Far in the distance the great white tower of squad one with lights flickering in its many tiny windows loomed like a mile-high sentinel, the only sign of life from where I sat.

"It is about what happened, but quite frankly I couldn't care less about Kuchiki. It's about time someone had the balls to stand up to him."

I choked out a laugh for the first time in more than a day. "Captain!"

"It's fine, were alone. More importantly, how are you?"

"I'm... I'm okay." I lied not wanting to go into detail about just how terrible I felt. I didn't want to waste her time with such trivial things as feelings.

She sighed. "Look, what you did was foolish and you have been punished accordingly. Your outburst brought attention to you and could potentially give people a reason to do digging and discover more of your... misdeeds."

I cringed. "I feared as much. Hopefully, they don't."

"I don't think they will, no one suspects you to be a criminal, but I thought it best you were warned to keep your guard up around academy officials from now on."

"Yes, ma'am." I nodded and we sat in silence for a few moments.

"I... I understand how you feel." She said suddenly and I gave a small laugh of disbelief. Firstly I was surprised that she would bring up the subject on a personal level, especially as she seemed like the sort of person who didn't care for emotions with her rock-solid couldn't-give-a-crap attitude. But secondly, how could a Captain, awed and revered by everyone, possibly know the feeling of being used and abandoned by someone so close to them.

"How could you possibly understand?" I asked quietly.

She didn't reply for a moment then hesitantly explained. "You remind me of someone I once knew. A young girl many years ago who lost someone dear to her. They walked out of her life and left her behind as though she had never existed. Do you know how she coped?"

"How?" I asked miserably.

"She severed all of her emotional ties and moved on."

I looked up at her. She was staring unblinkingly out at the ocean of silence before us as if recalling something unpleasant.

"She felt the most horrific pain imaginable like someone had clamped their fist around her heart and squeezed it for every drop of blood it held. So, to make sure she never felt that pain again she built a brick wall around her heart and pulled the weeds of the problem out by the roots."

I understood exactly what she meant. I had felt something very similar and the solution was already clear in my mind. The weeds she referred to were relationships. Relationships gone bad were the cause of the pain so to avoid the same scenario I should simply remove them from my life.

"Captain... How? How am I supposed to just remove such a big part of my life?"

She shrugged. "Eventually the fear of the pain becomes greater than the need for the company so you do what is best."

"...Are you speaking from experience?" I asked getting a distinct feeling this wasn't about some old friend at all, otherwise, I couldn't imagine why she would be so sympathetic.

"That's not important. Just a little bit of advice to help your decision, though it might seem cold:

I'm not sure if you know this, but when we hire new members of the Stealth Force to take part in the secret operations that we call "Black Projects", they're forced to renounce their former lives and cut all ties to loved ones. This is partly so they can focus on their mission, but partly so they have no baggage to drag them down if shit hits the fan in the line of duty, hostage situations and alike. If you hadn't been so attached to the Abarai girl when she left you wouldn't be in this mess,"

There it was, her cold and calculating side. Though she was completely correct and the advice only served to confirm my instinctual feelings.

"You must have read my mind. I'm already distancing myself from them. I can't deal with all of the drama and pain that comes with friendship... I can't deal with people staring at me and talking behind my back like I'm a freak, just because I cared for someone, tried to fight for her and lost."

"Then the solution is obvious. Don't show them your weaknesses, make them fear you rather than mock you. Show them that you're no pushover. If you're serious about climbing the ladder to Squad two and beyond then you need to put your ambitions to the front and relationships buried so far underground that they will never see the light of day."

"I want to, but It's hard when I think of five years of being alone..."

"Five years is nothing compared to the amount of time you'll spend being used and abused by people who pretend to care. Unfortunately, I have already hired for the position I offered you else I would take you with me tonight."

My heart dropped and I lowered my head in disappointment. I rather hoped she would turn this whole shitty situation around for me.

"I have faith in you, Murasaki. You're strong, determined and most importantly, smart. No matter how long is left of your time here, I know you'll make it; then when this is over you can leave them behind for good. You have three months of winter break to figure out what you want to do. I'm not saying that you must disconnect from everyone, it's only my recommendation as it will also help you advance in your career. Relax and use your three months of thinking time wisely."

She said turning away from the Seireitei in the distance and planting her feet back on the bell tower floor. She began to walk away.

"Oh, and if it makes you feel better: My sources tell me the girl was looking thoroughly miserable when she arrived in the city." She said with a sly smirk and I laughed at her attempt at cheering me up. "Good luck. I expect to see you at your best when you return from Winter Break."

She flash-stepped away leaving me alone with my thoughts again. It was a rather odd way to encourage someone, but I appreciated the effort coming from the last person I would have expected.

* * *

After that night I heeded the Captain's warning and became very withdrawn from everyone and everything. It came as a real shock to me that someone I loved like a second sister could abandon us so coldly.

Not to mention the needlessly sacrificed opportunity that I may never get back. I regretted that hasty decision more than anything. If I'd have just waited one day to think about it, I could have seen Rukia's true colours and left for the Seireitei right after her.

My imagination started to conjure up different scenarios of what might have happened if I did accept the offer as well as images of each of my friends leaving in Rukia's place; Each of them telling me how much they hated me, how we meant nothing to them, how pathetic I was for having a heart and numerous times I found myself on the verge of tears when I woke up and when zoning out in the middle of class.

So I began to distance myself to avoid the heartache of it happening all over again, whether that be tomorrow, next week, next year or in ten years when my guard would be down. I didn't think my heart could handle it again.

At first I was simply quiet and not my usual bubbly self, only getting involved in conversations to answer a question; Then slowly I started avoiding them, not walking to classes with them, sitting in a different seat in class, not turning up for dinner or spending all of my free time in the gym or studio working on new songs for my solo work, seeing as Emerald Eclipse had most definitely disbanded. Even I had to admit that my usually upbeat, energetic music was adopting a very dark and heavy tone under the stress of the current situation and it was the perfect outlet.

The part that was making me want to detach myself from society even more than the problems with my friends, was the new reputation I'd managed to make for myself.

I'd gone from being Kimiko Murasaki: The smart but brave and rebellious little first year, to being the Superstar School Idol and top member of the track team that everyone loved and looked up to, to being: "That kid that picked a fight with Byakuya Kuchiki and lost spectacularly before another Captain jumped in and saved her". Everywhere I went whispers followed me exactly like the time I beat the hoard of hollows, only much more negative.

Most of them were making fun of me and made me question my own ability. Was I really a strong as I thought I was? Could I really be considered talented if I had my ass handed to me so easily? Was I even fast enough for the Stealth Forces after all? Kuchiki had been no more than a blur with the least amount of effort.

No. No, I was not good enough. I wasn't worthy of notoriety, fame or recognition. I was just a worthless child as Kuchiki had so kindly put it.

With my newfound lack of self-confidence, overwhelming self-doubt and Sui Feng's words ringing in my ears, I actively tried to keep away from crowds and busy corridors whenever possible. I even resorted to using my favourite invisibility kido to sneak around in the light of day to avoid the rest of humanity, which was an excellent way to practise but of course against school rules and worth another detention with Nishizono's replacement if ever I was caught. I had been due one last detention with her before she moved out but she never turned up, instead sending in her replacement, one of the fifth years who had been invited to the school council to replace the graduates, which amused me greatly. I hoped she had taken my threat seriously and wouldn't bother me if we crossed paths again.

Thanks to my low attention span and frequent zoning out, the new girl and I had seen a lot of each other but I really didn't have the energy to give her hell during our time together as I did with Nishizono.

I just wanted to hide somewhere dark and wait for everything to blow over before resurfacing and hoping no one noticed me.

* * *

It was now the onset of winter, and thanks to my love of the snow I was quite happy relaxing in the grounds near the silence of the iced-over lake where no other students dared to step foot. Just me and my guitar under the ever-blooming giant pink blossom tree where I wouldn't be disturbed.

Except for the handful of times, my old friends paid me a visit. They knew me so well that they had no problem figuring out my hiding places and had a habit of coming to check on me occasionally. Most of the time they came with kind words and offers of fun things to do to cheer me up, but I wasn't in the mood so I rejected them, not always kindly.

I felt guilty for making Momo cry when she tried to make me read letters that Rukia had tried to send me.

A couple of weeks after she left I had received one in my private postbox just off the Emerald entrance hall that I'd found when checking to see if I had anything from Yuuor my parents.

Unknowingly, I opened it and read the first few words in familiar the handwriting before realising what it was:

 _Dear Kimi,_

 _I just want to explain what happened the other day._

It started, to which I tore up the piece of paper into a thousand pieces and threw it in the bin. She was actually trying to justify her actions. I couldn't believe her audacity.

But even after getting no reply she didn't give up. Momo must have told her I destroyed it, so she sent more. Now expecting the unpleasant mail I made a show of throwing each and every torn up scrap in the kitchen bin to prove a point: I wasn't going to give in.

Within the week Momo approached me while I relaxed at the base of the blossom tree to try and coax me into reading the most recent one that she had somehow rescued.

"Please, you'll understand why she did it... Just give her a chance," Momo pleaded as she sat beside me buried in a thick fluffy white winter coat.

"I can't believe you would take her side Momo... You saw how she treated us! How was that even remotely acceptable?!"

"She explains it all in her letters! Just read one of them, just once!"

"Not a chance. I refuse to waste any more of my time on a person like her. Give up and leave me the hell alone! I came out here to get away from everyone, not to be pestered!"

Tears flooded her eyes and she sniffled as she tried to fight them back. "Okay. I'm sorry for trying so hard to make you feel better. I hate seeing you so sad, but If you want to be alone that's fine. You know where we are if you change your mind." and with that, she left.

She didn't shout or argue, just gave me a disappointed, resigned look and I felt like an ass-hole for being so harsh.

The thought of Aizen reminding me to think before acting floated in from my memory and I kicked a rock into the frozen lake out of anger, watching the ice crack satisfyingly.

After that Momo and Kira left me alone, but strangely their defeat gave Renji a new determination.

I sat in our second-period history class the week before school ended for Winter break feeling my usual immovable boredom at the less than rivetting subject of past squad Captains and their notable achievements, gazing out of the window overlooking the lake.

I had a bizarre urge to walk on the ice and see if it could hold my weight or not. I could just imagine myself gliding along the smooth shimmering surface doing twirls like a figure skater, but just as imaginary me was going for a spinning jump, a loud bang right in my ear brought me crashing back to reality.

I bounced and almost fell out of my seat causing the class to start muttering and laughing under their breath at me as usual.

After a moment I realised that the teacher had lost her temper with my daydreaming and dropped a heavy textbook on my desk to bring back to earth, and in all fairness, she had a right to. I made no effort to hide my hatred of history classes and I had lost count of how many times I had been reprimanded for blatantly not paying attention this year.

Usually, it was Renji and I playing tick-tack-toe on the margins of our books or writing messages back and forth via tiny paper aeroplanes when the teacher's back was turned, but fun was no longer an option.

"Miss Murasaki! Will you please pay attention!? I'm sick of repeating myself for your benefit!" the elderly woman wheezed going red in the face with effort.

With my heart still pounding and thirty pairs of eyes still firmly planted on my back, I pretended to faint in an attempt to break the tension and make the class laugh with me, not at me.

"And you think trying to scare the living daylights out of me is gonna help!?" I said glaring at her with my cold blue eyes that had become icier than usual with my recent lack of bubbly energy.

"Maybe it will scare some sense into you!"

I sighed deeply and rolled my eyes. This argument could easily last for the rest of the lesson and if it did I would no doubt be forced to forfeit my lunchtime or be given a straight-up detention slip; So instead of arguing I gave her my best fake smile and marched onwards. "All right, fine. Can you please repeat the question?"

The teacher seemed momentarily taken aback by my sudden change of tone and quickly took the opportunity to get the class back on topic. "What is the most powerful fire-type Zanpakuto known to the Soul Society to date?"

"What the-" I began incredulously at the ridiculously easy question. We had been here for nearly a full year and she decided to ask us something that we had learned in the first week and expect us to be enthusiastic about it?

The teacher cringed at the return of my insolence. I bit my lip and answered the question just to get her off my back. "The answer is Ryujin Jakka, owned by Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, founder of this academy and Head Captain of the Thirteen Court Guards Squads." I recited as if reading aloud from a textbook. In fact, I had read that textbook enough times in the mind-numbingly boring class to memorize it word for word and regurgitate it on command.

"Good. That wasn't difficult, was it?" She asked sarcastically before walking away to the front of the class while continuing onto the next chapter of the book aloud.

I shook my head despairingly and took to doodling in the back of my book, seeing as my daydream of figure skating on the lake had long since been shattered.

I caught a few sideways glances and snickers from my classmates and made a point of glaring at them just to see them shrivel up under my cold gaze. Their scared reactions always gave me a weird sense of satisfaction. I just hoped it would be enough to make people leave me alone permanently.

Once the bell rang I was the first one up and out of that stuffy old room, leaping over the tables in a bid for freedom before the teacher could change her mind and book me a date with Lady-Detention after all.

A short way down the hall I heard a call from the class and rolled my eyes. _**Why? Why can't I just have one day of peace? Just once?**_

Renji jogged to catch up as I picked up speed, making a beeline for the exit onto the grounds just around the corner.

"Hey!" he called again finally catching up with me.

I knew what was coming. Probably some sort of joke or insult just like old times. Even though the others had given up on me he was trying harder than ever to get my attention, but unlike them, he was acting as if nothing had happened, being his usual loud and goofy self like there was no problem at all.

"How the hell do you manage it? How do you always cause more trouble than everyone else combined, huh?" he laughed clamping a hand on my shoulder in a boisterous grip.

I was forced to slow down and match his pace. "Shut it Renji, I don't do it intentionally y'know, it just-"

"Just happens?" he asked finishing my sentence for me. He had always had a habit of doing stuff like that as if we were twins that were in each other's head. "Maaaan that talent right there. You ought to charge for lessons on how best to disrupt classes. You'd make a fortune!"

"Harhar, very funny," I said dryly though I had to fight off a smile at the corner of my lips. For a moment I forgot that we weren't really speaking. His tactic of treating me like he would have done any other time and not like a homesick puppy who needed its heart fixing almost broke down a piece of my wall for a moment.

I finally looked up at him, taking a step away so I didn't have to strain my neck to see his face all the way up there and I almost went to continue the joke of other illegal activities I could charge for when a call from back up the corridor snapped me out of it.

"Hey, Abarai! You coming to lunch?"

I glanced over his shoulder to see a group of Renji's dorm friends, Kira and Momo hovering outside the class waiting for him and my heart flipped at the sight of them. Momo looked away quickly pretending not to be watching but Kira openly waved at me with a kind smile.

I grimaced and wiggled my fingers back weakly in a half-hearted reply.

Renji had made a special effort to come after me even though it was keeping his friends waiting and I couldn't understand why he would do it. Was it really worth that much effort to pester someone who made it clear they didn't want to have contact with humanity any more?

"Uh, right. I'll catch up to you!" he called back and they took off in the other direction. "What are you doing for lunch?" he asked conversationally.

"I guess I'll go and chill under my tree until next period. I'm not hungry."

He gave me a bewildered look and I could understand why. Any other time I would be leading the march to the nearest dining hall, debating on how many servings of cheese I would put on whatever today's meal was; but these days I couldn't muster an appetite. Maybe for dinner of an evening, but breakfast and lunch didn't matter to me any more especially as they were at a set time of day where I would have to be near people. At least I could go to dinner at the quietest time closer to curfew and not have to deal with the stares and weird looks for sitting all alone.

But instead of being lectured about skipping meals and looking unhealthy as Momo had attempted he simply said: "So what, you own the blossom tree now?"

I groaned at the terrible twisting of my words, a typical Renji move. "You know what I mean!"

"All right, relax I'm only messing with you," there was a pause in which he pulled a look of contemplation. It looked like hard work for his tiny brain. "How about we spar in Hakuda next period? We haven't had a good fight in ages"

I gave a half-hearted smile against my will. How did this idiot always find a way to make me happy with the things I loved most: Food, sneaking around and fighting.

I didn't want to let him think he had gotten to me but I really did need an outlet for some of the negative energy I was bottling up and a Renji sized punching bag was just the thing I needed. I bit my lip for a moment hesitating but quickly gave in for the first time since distancing myself.

"I can't say no to that, can I? See you next period."

He grinned and waved as he walked away to catch up to his friends. "Catcha later then!"

I watched him leave realizing that no matter how hard he tried things would never be quite the same and we would never be as close as we once were. The urge to run after him and join their group just for someone to talk to came washing over me and I hurried out the doors before I could make the mistake of dropping my guard.

I came to rest under the shade of the blossom tree with my bags set down beside me and a pad of paper in my lap, watching the world go by while my imagination ran wild in an effort to come up with new song lyrics. But instead of my imagination taking me away to somewhere better than reality, I found myself remembering my past, how I got here, everything I had been through to get to this point, all of the trials and tribulations that had made me physically stronger, all of the wonderful experiences that had made me soft at heart and emotionally sensitive. Once again the timeless saying that Granny lived by rang in my ears: **_Everything happens for a reason._**

Hopefully, all of this would be worth it in the end.

* * *

Renji made a point of speaking to me whenever we were close after that day just because he had seen cracks in my mask. No doubt he thought that if he kept chipping away at it the former bright and lively Kimi would come bursting through like a butterfly from its cocoon.

He would do things like hovering close to me while Master Dao demonstrated a new Weapon, or intentionally messing up a Kido spell and asking me to correct him instead of Momo and Kira who were the experts in the subject, or just ask if I wanted to be his sparring partner at every given chance. It was almost like Momo and Kira were too scared to do it for fear of getting their heads bitten off, so he was going the extra mile to make up for their lack of effort and more than anything it felt like being nagged by an annoying little brother.

Most of the time I just shook my head and walked away so not to get his hopes up... unless it was Zanjutsu. Then I had no choice because we were both too rough to fight with anyone else and the rest of the class feared for their lives just watching us while clinging to the walls as we used the entire Dojo floor for our brutal matches.

It went on like that for a couple more weeks: They tried to get my attention or bribe me with something that I enjoyed but I would reject them, then they would try again the next day, and the next, and the next with Renji always doing the speaking and Momo and Kira hovering close by to see my reaction.

The day before the end of the school year they made one last-ditch attempt to win me over before the blissful three month holiday.

I spent the whole of Hakuda feeling like I was being watched, and I knew I was. I occasionally caught glimpses of Renji staring at me from the other side of the room when he was waiting for his turn to spar with Kira in my absence, along with the occasional glance from Kira and Momo, almost as if they were waiting for something.

I intentionally turned my back to them and continued kicking the crap out of my armoured straw dummy.

Kickboxing was the final first-year martial arts technique we had been taught and I had thoroughly enjoyed learning how to use my feet for something besides running. I felt more confident in knowing that I would be able to do some half-decent hand to hand combat if ever I was disarmed in a fight somehow, and now I'd moved on to adding spirit energy to my kicks to power them up, putting my personal spin on the moves as I did with every other ability.

The only problem was that I really packed a punch, so the teacher made me use a dummy instead; But I'd destroyed several dummies in the just a few days, so he had allowed me to pad out my next unfortunate victim with thick foam boxing gear that made it look like an inanimate instructor. It's almost humanoid shape gave me something, or rather someone, that I could take my anger and frustration out on without being arrested for assault.

Their stares only riled me up more and I kicked harder, imagining my dummy to be a certain person who id love beating the crap out of right now. She had never been a match for my speed and power. With every kick, I remembered the physical pain of having my wrist broken or my back smashed into the floor repeatedly and made sure to give ten times more to the dummy.

The lesson ended with the bell ringing to announce lunch and I held back to move my equipment back into the storeroom, but I was mostly just trying not to allow them to corner me and force me to talk to them. I could tell by the stares that they had something to say, but I had no intentions of hearing them out.

I wasted another twenty minutes organising the storeroom, pretending that my dummy wouldn't fit with all of the crash mats that had slipped from the stacks. It probably would have if I forced the door shut, but I had a feeling that someone would be waiting outside expecting me to talk to them. I still wasn't willing to give them any of my time so I spent as long as I could before the teacher kicked me out and locked the building. I assumed that the others would be too impatient to wait for me for that long, but I was wrong.

The sky was still a deep, dark, endless grey that threatened rain or snow. I stood in the doorway to button up my coat against the chill that even had me shivering despite my love of winter and as I left the archway and took a sharp right towards the music studio, someone stepped out on me.

"Ouuch! Watch where you're-" I started to complain as I bumped head first into hard chest muscles. I looked up and sure enough, it was Renji, frowning down at me with a look of disapproval on his face.

"What do you want?" I groaned bluntly backing up so I didn't have to crane my neck up at him.

"For you to stop being an idiot already. Don't you think enough is enough?" His bright goofy demeanour was gone, replaced by determined seriousness. He knew that if he didn't try now then I would have the opportunity to fade further away from them over winter break, which was indeed my plan.

I huffed and went to walk around him. He held out an arm that hooked around my shoulder and scooped me back in front of him.

"I'm not being an idiot," I said defiantly.

"Then why are you still avoiding us? We've done nothing wrong,"

I let out an exasperated laugh that I couldn't stifle. He was right of course, quite the opposite. They had done everything they could to try and make me feel welcome and I had pushed them away. "Never mind. You wouldn't understand."

I tried walking away around his other side but he scooped me straight back in front again with no effort. My temper began to boil and my cheeks did that annoying thing that made me look like a hamster with a face full of food that no one could possibly take seriously. Curse my smallness. If I was heavier I could push him out the way.

"Clearly you are avoiding us, else you wouldn't have started using your bedroom window instead of the front door to avoid Momo," I opened my mouth to argue that I could use whatever entrance I liked but he cut me off.

"Or going out for your run at the crack of dawn and showering before Momo even wakes up," I tried to cut in again but he ignored me.

"Or completely skipping breakfasts and lunches,"

I didn't even get to open my mouth to argue.

"Or spending 99.99% of your free time locked in the recording studio on your own,"

I finally exploded. "So, what? You're going to take that enjoyment away from me now too?! I'm not allowed to have fun at all now?! Fuck you Renji, I don't have time for your crap!" I went to turn away, really not wanting to get into an argument with him on the last day. Fights were fun, emotional arguments with ex-bestfriends most certainly were not.

He grabbed my wrist, tugged me back towards him and pushed me into the wall beside us until I was pinned and he was right in my face. "Talk to me now, Murasaki! Stop this bullshit right now and talk!"

The use of my formal surname and the harshness of his tone shook me to my core. It reminded me of the first days of school when he hated me so much that he couldn't bring himself to use my full name, let alone my shortened nickname and the many other mocking nicknames he had come up with. That seemed so long ago and only now did I realise how far we had come since the start of school.

Against my will, I felt the tears wobbling at the corners of my eyes. I squeezed them shut in an attempt to suck the salty water back in. I looked up at the sky taking a deep breath to hold them back just as raindrops began to fall on my face.

"What do you want me to say Renji? How am I supposed to trust people after what your sister did?"

He paused looking down at the ground as he muttered coldly: "She's not my sister any more. She has a real family now."

I didn't know what to say. A real family? Did she really prefer a materialistic family that would give her a free pass into the Seireitei and all the luxuries she could ever want, over us? I highly doubted that the Kuchiki's would give her any form of love or support. That just wasn't their style.

"...And you're okay with that?" I muttered.

"Of course I'm not but I don't have a choice in the matter, and now that I know why she chose them I don't have any right to an opinion either. Look, I'm sorry for what she did, but if you would just listen to her for a few minutes maybe you would understand-"

"Not you too!?" I groaned. Just when I was starting to think he felt the same resentment that I did...

"Yeah, me too. And maybe you would too if you just read her letters instead of shredding them!"

"And fall for her lies just to get shot down the next time she decides she doesn't want us any more? Do you really believe the crap she's feeding you in those letters? You've seen her true colours and you still believe her? What if they were just elaborate excuses? What if we all kiss and make-up and pretend everything is fine and dandy just for her to ditch us again and we have to go through the same heartache for a second time? Who's to say it won't be one of you guys that pull a stunt like that next time, huh?!"

"We would never do something like that-"

"How am I supposed to believe you? There's a reason I have been distancing myself from everyone! It hurt so much Renji... I just... I can't risk that again! I'm the type of person that gets torn apart by emotional things. You guys can just pretend it didn't happen but I can't!" I couldn't hold the tears any more, they came spilling out and I looked down in the hope that he would mistake them for the raindrops that were now pattering loudly into a puddle from the roof beside us.

The deluge had appeared from the storm clouds that had been gathering in the sky all morning, much like the tears that were finally bursting from my eyes after so many weeks of forcing them back. The sorrow, loneliness and isolation were finally overwhelming me for only Renji to see.

Once again, just like that time on our midnight hollow hunt, I found myself confiding in him rather than anyone else, but why? Why was I spilling my heart out to my male rival who surely wouldn't understand, instead of my female roommate who was also quite sensitive and might be able to relate? What the hell was wrong with me?

"It hurt so much to think that my closest, most trusted friend who I could share almost anything with would throw me away like trash when I would put my life on hold for her... I would jump in front of a sword for her- for all of you! She's out there enjoying herself right now and I could have been high up in the ranks of the squad I have always strived to be part of, actually making a difference to people's lives like they once did for me. I need to be there, Renji!"

He had no idea what I meant by that of course. I'd never told anyone the full story of why it was so important for me to become a high ranked Soul Reaper and repay my debt. I had come so close to achieving my greatest ambition only to have the bad choice slapped back in my face by a loved one, especially after Shuhei advised against my decision. I should have listened to him and that was what hurt the most.

"I've tried my best, I've done some really dangerous things to get into that squad and I turned it down because I love you guys! With all my heart! And I thought you would feel the same but I couldn't have been more wrong!" I said with a body shaking sob, wiping my tears on my sleeve. But it didn't help, my clothes were already drenched.

"That's not true... You weren't wrong at all," He said but I carried on in my hiccuping rant.

"I didn't want to leave you all behind, we had so much more time to spend together, memories to make and things to learn... If I didn't have such a big heart-! If I'd have just been as selfish as her-!"

"Kimi-" he said firmly but not unkindly. I looked up into his eyes. His scarlet hair that he had been growing out in competition to get his now shoulder-length ponytail longer than mine was soaked and starting to fall out at the sides without his bandana on to hold it in place. He usually took it off after it got sweat-soaked in Hakuda, revealing the eyebrow tattoos that were slowly extending up to his forehead in tribal designs when he went into town to spend his monthly allowance.

For a moment I imagined him with his long hair let down and thought it might suit him for a change.

"I really miss you guys... Momo and Rukia were like the smart, responsible sisters that kept me in check, and Kira was like the strong big brother that always had everyone's back... but I miss you the most Renji. Music keeps me sane but nothing is as fun as running around the school causing chaos with you... I would give anything to have it the way it was..."

He put a thumb on my chin and made me look at him in the eyes again, not forcefully like before. He was so close to me I could almost see my misty icy-blue eyes reflecting back in his dark brown ones and I desperately had the urge to run into his arms and hug him tight. I needed a hug so badly.

I noticed that his eyes also had similar pain and sadness. Until now I hadn't taken into consideration how much he must miss Rukia too, after all, they had spent decades together much like Yuu and I. This probably wasn't easy for him either.

"You can come back to us at any time. We would never shun you. We understand this is hard for you and people react in different ways, but please don't shut us out any more. Rukia may not be here, but we are." He paused and seemed to be taking in my face. "Momo is really worried about you... Isolating yourself, skipping most meals and losing weight that you can't afford to lose, interacting with no one for days... Look at the bags under your eyes, you look tired. And if you lose any more weight you'll disappear, you're tiny as it is!" He smiled trying to lighten the mood and I laughed through the sobs. "Please don't do this to yourself."

I shook my head and rain flicked from the ends of my straggly water-blackened strands. "I would rather be alone with my music than suffer the unhappiness of losing another friend next time they decide they don't want me anymore. If this was to happen again I don't think my heart could take it,"

"Kimi, You don't even have to be Rukia's friend, you just need to listen. Honestly, she didn't do this without a perfectly good reason. Hearing her out might put your mind at rest and then you can loosen up and come back to us once you realise that we're not going anywhere,"

I shook my head again and smiled brightly. Yeah, it was a completely fake forced smile, but I couldn't let him see my hurt side any more. I had been honest with him but now I needed to prove that after I got all of that emotion off my chest I would be fully capable of getting by on my own.

"Thank you for trying Renji, and thank you for letting me get this off my chest, but this is the sort of scar that only time can heal. You and Kira just take care of Momo for me. I know she's a tough cookie but she needs friends a heck of a lot more than I do, she can't deal with lack of human contact like I can. I have hobbies to keep me going, she only has the Kido club twice a week."

He stared into my eyes as if he was trying to read my thoughts and I blushed at how close he was. In that silent moment, I could swear he was getting closer.

Then there was a bright flash of light followed by a low rumble in the distance as the storm headed this way. I jumped out of my skin and we were snapped out of our awkward staring contest.

I ducked under his arm and twirled to face him from the side, ruffling his hair and making him snap out of whatever trance he was in. "C'mon, you look like a drowning dog. You should get inside before you get sick or get struck by lightning. Cya around, Renji." I smiled again and walked away.

This time he didn't try to stop me but I sensed his gaze on my back as I jogged away through the downpour. It wasn't the rain I was running from, it was the warmth, friendship and attention I craved as well as the temptation to throw caution to the wind and give trusting them one more chance and ignore the risk of more heartache in the future.

* * *

 **A/N:** So we've finally come full circle and linked up with the prologue. Not such a tough little cookie now is she?

 **3rdSeatofSquad2**

See, I did remember to use Aizen's signature line! :D

Byakuya was definitely going to blast her with a Sokatsui or something, even if it hit the floor behind her head at the last second, it would have been enough to scare the crap out of her if Aizen hadn't have jumped in.

Oh yeah! I totally forgot about Itachi, it's been a good ten years since I watched Naruto, but that's definitely what Rukia was aiming for, and Kimi did a Sasuke in retaliation though on a smaller scale.

I hope Sui Feng's reaction was accurate. I have a feeling that Kimi's situation would bring up some soar memories. It seems she already sees some of herself in little Kimi and wants to take her under her wing, so I figured she would want to offer some advice on how not to feel hurt as she did with Yoruichi.

Hopefully, next chapter will be a time skip out of the academy arc but I lost the draft when I got a new phone so the next one is something from scratch :(

Stay tuned people, thanks for reading. Feel free to leave your feedback 3


	45. Catch a Kimi by the Toe

Chapter 45 - Catch of the day

To avoid the rush of students leaving for the winter break the next morning, I spent that evening packing my bags early so that I could leave before everyone else was even awake; But the whole time I was bustling quietly around my locked room so not to alert Momo, I struggled to get rid of the thought of Renji's last attempt at breaking down my wall and how close he had gotten, both physically and mentally.

Don't think about it, don't think about it, think of home. I sang in my head like a mantra of concentration and it kind of worked. The thought of being in my own bed with a stomach full of our family's speciality Ramen this time tomorrow night helped me drift off into a broken sleep.

My morning run was the last thing on my to-do list when I rose before the sun the next day. Somehow I managed to carry all of the stuff I needed for the three months of being at home, the important things like clothes and my instruments, not my little knick-knacks and thingamabobs that would stay here until next year, downstairs to the entrance hall silently in three suitcases a two backpacks without waking Momo and I wondered if the Captain would be impressed with my sneaking skills now.

Earlier that week I had overheard many conversations about what time people were due to leave today and most were aiming for 9am and onwards, the same time as classes started to give themselves an extra-long sleep before travelling; But I lived less than an hour away, given that there was no snow or ice on the roads and I wanted more than anything to be shot of this place already. So I sent a letter back home at the beginning of the week telling my family of my return date and asking if anyone would like to come and meet me.

I got a fast reply from Hatsu promising that he and Yuu would be there at 7am on the dot before the sun even broke the horizon and as promised the first shiny black horse-drawn carriage came round the corner into the student village just on time.

I ran to the edge of the road to meet them excitedly just as Hatsu climbed out and held a hand to help Yuu down.

I ran into my Sister's arms and waddled there hugging her, just enjoying the moment especially after what happened yesterday.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you both..." I mumbled into her shoulder and she held me away to take a look at my face with an expression of pride.

"Me too. How are you? You look tired, have you been sleeping enough?

"In general, yes. Last night, no." I lied pulling away and accepting a quick Hatsu hug, just a squeeze of his arm around my shoulder.

"I'll feel better once we're out of here,"

"Absolutely! Mom and the maids are already preparing one of 'those meals' for breakfast. It should be done by the time we return," she beamed and I laughed.

"A welcome party for me again? For once I'm not complaining. Let's get moving."

They helped me heave my belongings into the carriage and we managed to squeeze on board with our legs facing in awkward positions before setting off.

As we came back around the cul-de-sac to exit the same way they entered I took one last glance at the place that had been my home away from home and spotted Momo standing in the doorway watching me leave with a mournful look on her face.

My heart sank and I looked away quickly pretending I hadn't seen, but the moment hadn't gone unnoticed by my family; There was no use trying to hide it anyway, knowing them they probably would have noticed something was off about me just by how quiet I was.

"Friend troubles?" Hatsu asked.

"I'm surprised you haven't brought them home with you. Weren't you organising a winter sleepover when you brought them home in the summer?"

"A lot has happened since then, a lot that I'd rather forget about," I said simply.

"Well... we're here if you want to talk about it..." she offered but I didn't reply.

Thankfully they didn't pry into the matter any further, instead changing the discussion to my classes and of course, what my end of year grades looked like.

At this, I pulled an envelope out of my backpack containing my first-year grades and the letter that confirmed my place in the second year at the end of April and handed it to them.

They were thrilled at my excellent scores, but I did clarify that part of the score was technically cheated due to Kanisawa fixing it at a distinction as a thank you for saving her life during the exam. Everything else I had gotten legitimately through hard work and study... except History of course but that grade didn't affect whether I would get into the second year or redo the first year so I didn't care.

The stories of weird and wonderful things that had happened carried us through our fifty-minute ride along the mountains into Harumachi.

Before long I was being hugged by my parents and sitting down to another slap-up feast before unpacking and relaxing into the afternoon.

* * *

I settled back into Harumachi life quickly, but it was a far cry from the fast-paced, busy school campus I'd become accustomed to. It felt wrong to be walking along wide open, quiet streets instead of squeezing through narrow corridors full of screaming, energetic teenagers.

No sounds of Kido explosions in the archery range to the east, no loud music echoing from the performance hall or performing arts building as the clubs practised their routines in the south of campus... no sounds of metal clashing in the North of campus as students fought to get stronger or just for bragging rights in mine and Renji's case.

It was unbearably quiet and I felt like I'd gone into early retirement or something. That's when I realised that I had grown out of rural country life and belonged in the city where the action was.

The most exciting thing to happen to me in the first month was being called to retrieve a little old lady's underwear from a tree after a freak blizzard hit the village and blew her washing off the line. Not the most glamorous of jobs but apparently my official status of Soul Reaper-in-training automatically gave me the honour of dealing with any tasks that would have been difficult for normal souls. But climbing trees and carrying fruit back from the orchard wasn't nearly as fun or challenging as it used to be.

I longed to grab Ruby and fight someone of my skill level but unfortunately, Hatsu had conceded that he was no longer a match for me and would only spar with wooden swords for fear of me accidentally dismembering him.

Eventually, I plucked up the courage to interrogate him about this Rukon Patrol Squad work he was doing under Kaien Shiba's instruction and begged him to take me along with him one day in an effort to get out of town, but he flatly refused.

"The whole point behind our squad is that it's comprised of local people who have no spirit energy but have the will to protect their community. It would be totally against the point to let a trainee Soul Reaper into our ranks, even if only for a few weeks. It would take a miracle for them to even consider it." he had insisted repeatedly so I took to skulking around in the makeshift training ground forest behind the manor on my own where Yuu couldn't find me and drag me on boring errands.

Then an idea for a big time-consuming project hit me: Why didn't I revamp the forest into a real private training ground with all of the things I would usually do at school so I could actively train out of term time? Like the time I built that swinging logs obstacle to practise for the entrance exams, but on a far bigger scale.

So I roped Yuu and Hatsu into helping with the building work. Thanks to Yuu's connections we even had villagers offering to lend their skills when it came to things like cutting down trees and turning the logs into wooden planks for the floor for the small sparring area, which I had modelled off the one used in the graduation festival.

After two weeks of almost constant work, the main part was completed so I moved on to creating intricate obstacle courses through the forest and branching off around the town outskirts with everyone's help to hand me the materials while I was up in the trees.

With just under a month left until school, we had plenty of time to add cosmetic finishing touches. We cleaned out the pond, scrubbed the pavilion and gave it a new lick of fresh white paint, planted new flowers, laid stepping stones as paths and hung up lanterns that the villagers made by hand around the forest so I could see at night time.

"Are we done?" I asked staring around to see if there was anything I had forgotten.

"I think so... It looks completely different, we did a great job!"

"Hell yeah, we did! ...It's just a shame I only get to use it for three months at a time over the next five years. But I guess you guys could find a use for it while I'm away"

She put an arm around me and steered me towards the pavilion where Granny had stopped by an hour ago with tea and biscuits, though the tea was now cold. "You know you can come back any time, right? We are open on weekends too" she reminded me, sounding like a shop keeper.

"I know that, but the travelling sucks. Maybe if I just need to get away from campus I'll pay you visits more often; But honestly, I feel better than I did when school finished. I think I just needed to get some breathing space." I smiled readying up for a bite on a sponge cake.

"You do seem happier. You were so stressed out when we picked you up. You look like you'd been losing weight... I was worried about you,"

I was happier, mainly because I had found something to sink my time and attention into where my mind couldn't wander and over-think things. No one ever asked what had actually happened to get me in such a negative state and I hadn't so much as uttered their names in the whole time of being here. There was no one around to whisper behind my back or spread rumours about me so I was no longer tiptoeing through the shadows to avoid humanity. As a result, I no longer felt the need to cry for no reason or randomly hug people. I just felt relaxed and calm and I was confident that the Captain would see me back at my best next time she called me to the Stealth Club, as promised.

"I'll be fine~" I sang through a mouth full of cake waving off her worries. "Y'know, I think I might even go back to school early"

"Wait, what? Why?" You blinked with a custard cream frozen on the way to her mouth. "You're that desperate to study?"

"Nah, they handed out notes to everyone before we left asking for people to help with the first year entrance exams and inductions. I'll only be there for a few days over the exam period next week, come back home for three more weeks, then go back again before school starts at the end of April."

Really I just wanted to see the exams from a different perspective with a trained eye and see if any super-strong new kids were signing up. That and getting deep into school life early might help me avoid everyone when they return so I can fade away and make them finally give up on me, but I didn't mention that part of the plan. I'd decided to go with the Captain's suggestion and cut ties early to make it easier to get into the high Stealth Force positions later on with less effort. The five years of solitude no longer daunted me so much and I was ready to go back and get started.

Just then as I was going for a second slice of cake, Hatsu came flying into the training ground from around the outside of the house looking dishevelled.

"What's wrong with you? Are you training for a marathon or something?" I blinked as he skidded to a stop at the top of the path to the pavilion panting as if his lungs had popped.

"Well, for starters you're dressed all wrong for training! You won't get far in those shoes-" Yuu said pointing an accusatory chocolate finger at the rope shoes on his feet and I rolled my eyes.

"Why is everything about fashion with you?"

Hatsu ignored her and shook his head. "No, no marathons... need your help..." he wheezed.

"With what? Hey, at least let me finish my cake!" I complained as he pulled me away from the table by the wrist.

"No time. The tea party is over,"

"Hatsu!"

He turned to look at me with a grave worried expression. "Remember how I said it would take a miracle for my patrol squad to accept you even for a day? Well, the miracle happened. There's been a hollow attack just outside of town. The woman said it dragged her daughter into the forest, but we can't get in touch with the Reapers... You're our next best hope,"

I froze. "A hollow attack... this close to home!? Why didn't you just say so!? Go wait out front, I'll be with you in a sec. Yuu, go tell dad to sound the alarm and get the villagers indoors where it's safer until I've dealt with the problem"

"Uh, yeah, okay" she nodded looking confused at the sudden escalation of the situation.

I flashed over the outer manor wall and dashed to my room to change my shoes and grab Ruby.

Hatsu stood with Yuu for a moment catching his breath once I had gone.

"They're ready?"

He shrugged. "Apparently so, a little warning would have been nice..."

In minutes I was back at the front of the manor where Hatsu was waiting impatiently and we set off at a run. I felt a little underprepared still in my short fur-lined purple yukata but at least I had time to change to decent running shoes.

"Where did it happen?"

"Just over the northbridge out of town, the woman said she saw a blur of white and then her daughter was gone but she thinks she saw it head into the forest just up the path. My men are waiting on the edge of town... It's not that they're scared, it's just..."

I shook my head. "Forget about pride for a second and think logically. A fight between powerless Rukon guys and a hollow would not end well no matter how hard they tried. But where the hell are the Reapers when you need them?! This is their job!"

"No idea, I tried contacting them but no answer."

"Its a good job this ain't my first rodeo with a hollow else we would all be screwed!"

"But you don't have a Zanpakuto, won't you struggle?"

I huffed indignantly. "I've killed more hollows with Ruby than I've had hot dinners!" I exaggerated confidently. "Just trust me and stay where it's safe when we find it" I smirked.

Finally, some real combat action. This was the icing on the cake to a day that had already been fruitfully productive.

On the edge of the town stood a group of men varying in age but all wearing the same dark blue hakama uniform as Hatsu and holding shiny Katana's in matching blue sheaths.

"Found her," Hatsu called as we approached. "Kimi this is my squad; Squad, this is my little Sister-in-law... The Soul Reaper Trainee."

We exchanged nods of acknowledgement but I didn't feel welcome in the slightest. I noticed them glance at my sword with looks of annoyance or perhaps envy and realised that all of these guys were in the same boat as Hatsu. Perhaps some of them had also tried and failed to get into the academy and here I was- an unwelcome personification of what they wanted in life but could never have due to being born without spirit energy at no fault of their own. I knew right away that this was the real reason they wouldn't allow me to tag along until they were faced with a desperate situation that they couldn't handle alone.

"Where is it?" I asked eagerly.

"Over there-" one man said pointing into the woods just up the hill. "We haven't seen it with our own eyes but the lady swore that's where it went"

"Kay'. Stay behind me, if I say run don't hesitate, got it?"

We set off and I had to tone it down to allow them to keep up with me instead of impatiently racing off alone, but the excitement of fighting a hollow for my first real challenge in weeks was getting to me. "Eyes peeled," I told them quietly.

We searched for almost ten minutes but I didn't see or sense anything. "Dude, there's nothing here..." I said starting to feel sceptical. "Maybe it was just an animal?"

"What kind of white animal would swipe a child? Just keep looking." Hatsu argued.

But still, I didn't feel anything. "Dude, I swear if there was anything here I would have felt its spiritual pressure by now," I said further along.

"Just a little further, there's a river up ahead. Maybe it stopped up there"

"Fine! But if there's nothing were turning back."

Just ahead was the river but still nothing, then suddenly Hatsu called out: "Over there!"

Hunched down by the river was a small hollow with sickly green skin beneath the clay-like white mask, almost identical to the ones we had thought early in the school year. "Gotcha!" I said and I went into pursuit mode.

Unsheathing Ruby, I pulled at my spiritual energy to empower my overhead slash but before I got there my world began to spin.

I felt a tug on my ankle and I was hoisted into the air with a high pitch squeal and stretchy brown ropes closed around me like a cage.

"Shit! What the-!?" I yelled writhing around frantically to break free before the hollow could turn around and attack me. My scream would have alerted it so I was now in danger.

"Everybody retreat!" I shouted but I didn't hear a reaction.

My first thought was that the hollow had some sort of snare ability and I was now its bait, but then I heard a familiar laugh down below and stopped struggling.

"I can't believe you actually pulled it off, good job Hatsuka. Remind me to call on you again if I ever need to set up a trap."

"It wasn't me, I just followed your instruction, Sir." he sighed.

"Is that… KAIEN!?"

"In the flesh!" he cheered up at me happily, though the net was too thick for me to see anything.

"Hatsu, this isn't funny! Why is he here and why the hell am I in a net?! Let me down right now or I swear you're gonna regret this!"

Kaien whistled. "Boy, you weren't joking about that temper were you, Abarai?"

My heart somersaulted but it was nothing to do with the dizzying height I was suspended at or the precariously swinging net that barely felt strong enough to hold my weight. The memories of Renji's face being so close to mine on that stormy day right before school ended forced their way into my mind again and I had to shake my head to remove the image. "Abarai? Renji, you're here too?! Why!?"

Renji's mocking voice came floating up to my prison. "Well, y'see, we heard about this elusive creature called the "Hot-Headed Firecracker" that lives around these parts, so we thought we would come and try to catch it."

"Bro, I hope you don't plan and eating that thing, it doesn't look very appetizing," came Kira's voice, as if they were out on a camping trip looking for their next meal.

I groaned. "You brought the whole gang with you, didn't you?"

"Yep! I'm here too!" Momo called up cheerily. "Did you like my little trick back there? I've been practising!"

"What…? Trick? Wait… that hollow… It looked familiar… was that a Kido?!" I asked understanding dawning on me.

"Yep! I found an illusionary Kido spell in an advanced textbook at the library while researching over the break. I took a leaf out of your book and spent hours studying to kill time. Pretty neat, huh?"

"No! That was not neat at all! I genuinely thought we were in danger… I even had my father sound the alarm!"

"But the alarm didn't ring, did it?" Renji pointed out.

"No… I knew something seemed suspicious! Hatsu you're such a terrible actor!"

"I brought you here though, didn't I?" He yawned.

"Shut up! Was all of this effort to trap me really necessary? And why am I still in this net!? Let me down right now!"

"All right all right. Will someone please let the cat out of the bag before she explodes and tries to kill us?" Kaien groaned and the net suddenly dropped a few feet making my stomach roll.

"Gently if you don't mind! I'm not a sack of potatoes!"

"Whoa, can you wait for me to get out of here first? I need time to escape…" Hatsu gulped.

"Nu-uh. You're part of this plot too, Partner. You're not getting out of this. She's your little sister after all, if anyone can tame her it's you." Kaien chuckled.

"Sister in law-" he corrected. "It's my fiancée that can calm her down, not me! I'm just her punching bag..."

"Glad to see someone else suffers too," Renji grumbled under his breath but Hatsu ignored him. Apparently being ordered to work with Renji hadn't stopped his intense dislike of him.

"You better be scared! When I get out of here I swear I'm gonna beat you into next Tuesday!" I snarled.

"See!"

Then I hit the ground with a slight thud and someone cut a small hole in the netting near my face just enough for me to peak out.

There stood my old friends all wearing their own clothes. Momo in a pink yukata, Kira in a grey hakama as if he had been training and Renji lounging against a tree in his usual tatty grey cargo pants and black sweatshirt- Then I saw her.

Standing behind them looking away from the scene with a look of regret on her face was a small Soul Reaper girl with shoulder-length black hair and a red-handled Zanpakuto at her waist. At first, I didn't recognise her in the uniform, then it clicked.

"You've gotta be kidding me!? What part of 'I don't want to talk to her' do you people not understand!? Is this why you've captured be, to force me to talk to her?!"

"Told you she wouldn't take it well..." Kira grimaced from behind Kaien.

"Take it well?! Why would I take being captured like an animal and forced to interact with someone I hate well?! Fuck you! Release me right now or even the Soul King won't be able to put you back together when I'm done with you!" I ranted furiously.

"Yeaaaah, she's not getting out. You there-" Kaien said turning to Hatsu's team. "You brought extra rope? Cut a hole big enough for her head and bind her hands behind her back without removing the net. I'm not having her kicking off unexpectedly." they nodded and hurried to secure my bonds which was surprising. I didn't expect them to take orders from a Reaper so readily.

"Soooo… whose carrying her back?" Hatsu asked.

There was a moment of pause where all eyes seemed to linger on Renji. "Don't look at me! I've given her enough piggybacks this year!"

"Ah! Abarai, the perfect volunteer. Lets put those muscles to use." Kaien said pleasantly.

And before I knew it I was strapped to Renji's back like a butterfly half poking out of a cocoon complaining loudly about the situation. "This is ridiculous. This is her doing not mine so why am I the one being punished..."

Thankfully they didn't carry me through the centre of town where I would have eyes on me, instead choosing to use one of my newly built trails around the town into the manor through the back.

"All right, set her down up there and tie her to the trunk" Kaien instructed indicating to the large blossom tree in my courtyard. "That way if she tries to wriggle free she'll fall into the pond and turn into an icicle, and if that doesn't stop you I'll hang you up there by the ankles until were done."

"Wow, since when were you so sadistic?" I snorted.

"I'm not. I just can't go one more day with Rukia lurking around my barracks like a suicidal storm cloud. She's getting everyone down, so I did some digging and guess who I found to be the root of the problem" he said dramatically.

"Your bestest friend from many years ago?" I asked innocently fidgeting against the tree trunk to get comfy.

He rolled his eyes. "Not quite, more like the little old acquaintance who's still as much a pain in the backside as she was nearly fifty years ago. And, yes I do remember you."

I huffed indignantly. "How rude..."

"Imagine my surprise when I find out that my Rukon Patrol Unit leader happens to be related to you!"

"So you made him lure me into the forest so you could stop me from escaping? How very noble of you."

He shrugged. "I would have expected nothing less than escapes and cheap tricks from an Assassin in training so I had to take the precaution."

"KAIEN! That's supposed to be a secret!"

"Relax, they know all your about extracurricular activities, I filled then in while we were concocting this plan so they had an idea what to expect from you."

I bashed my head back against the tree in despair. "You complete idiot! If this gets out I'll be in so much trouble-"

"I can't believe you didn't tell us before!" Momo complained. "As if we would blab when it could get you kicked out of school! It may be illegal, but it's the reason you almost got recruited after all,"

My heart sank at that thought and I scowled at Rukia who was still silently looking anywhere but at me. "Thanks for reminding me."

"So, before I leave here today I want you to have resolved your differences one way or another. Understood?"

"Whatever…"

"What was that?"

"Uh, Yes, Lieutenant Shiba."

"That's better. I'm leaving you in charge, Izuru. Any problems I'll be out getting breakfast. Be back soon."

And just like that, he left with Hatsu scurrying along behind him. "This isn't over, Brother!" I hissed trying to think of ways to get back at him later.

There was an awkward silence for a moment where none of us really knew what to say. They sat down on the steps Infront of my bedroom door staring around at the manor.

"Nice place you've got here," Renji commented and I groaned.

"Really? Small talk? Can we just get this over with? I've got places to be, things to do"

"Don't give us that crap, you were due to finish your little DIY project today so unless you've been lazing around you've got nothing to do besides training," Renji argued.

"There are still finishing touches... Wait, how did you know about that?"

"Well... You're not gonna like it..." Momo said hesitantly.

I tsked loudly. "It's a little bit late to worry about hurting my feelings. Spit it out"

"Remember how your sister told us we could visit any time in the summer? Well I told Kaien about that trip and he had Hatsu set us up in the guest room over there for a few days..." she gestured vaguely towards the other side of the manor near Yuu's room.

"WHAT?! Are you telling me you've been here without me noticing?!"

Renji snorted. "You've been so busy with that training ground that you didn't notice us at all, though we did try to only come out when you weren't around..."

"It was risky but the hospitality was worth it," Kira said as though reviewing a luxury hotel.

"So was the look on her face when the net yanked her up," Renji snickered.

"Enough! Now, where were we?"

We all looked at Rukia expectantly but she continued to fidget uncomfortably while gazing at the stone floor. Momo nudged her in the side and she finally looked up, nervousness and shame written all over her face.

"I... I just wanted to apologize for what happened..."

"Well there you go, job done. You can leave now... But someone untie me first"

"Kiimiii..." They sighed rolling their eyes.

"I'm joking!"

And then as if a dam had broke and released a tidal wave Rukia blurted out everything.

"I went with the Kuchiki's because they promised to tell me about my biological family!"

I blinked in surprise. "...What?"

"I'm sorry for all those horrible things I said to you! I didn't mean any of it but they made me promise to renounce my school life and live with them in the Seireitei else they wouldn't tell me anything! Then you turned up as I was leaving so I figured the only way to make you let go was to make you hate me, but I never expected you to take my leaving as a betrayal... I thought you would move on and forget about me. When they told me you were distancing yourself I felt even worse so I tried to explain but you're so stubborn!" She said stomping her foot frustration once the words had finally tumbled out.

"... Why didn't you just tell us the truth? We would have supported you one hundred per cent"

The others nodded in agreement.

"I didn't think you would understand... I couldn't risk you making me stay..."

"Rukia... You really don't know me at all, do you?"

She finally looked up into my eyes and I stared right back, willing her to see my sincerity.

"I died and was reborn into the Soul Society with no memories of my past life. Nothing besides blurry after images of the Soul Reapers who saved me from being eaten by hollows. I didn't know who I was, where I had come from, how I had died or if I had left any grieving family behind. Nothing. And I have had to live with that for almost 48 years. Out of everyone, don't you think I would understand the desperate need to know who I really am? Not a week goes by where I don't wonder why I have such blue eyes, why I have Ice abilities without a Zanpakuto or use of Kido, or why I have such strong natural spiritual pressure if I was just a normal human... So many questions and I may only know the truth if I can find those soul Reapers that saved me... Even then they may not know anything or even remember me..." I trailed off sadly.

"So that's why you're so ambitious... That's why it hurt so much" Renji said probably remembering my outburst.

I nodded.

"I... I didn't think of that..." Rukia whispered.

"Maybe you should have taken five minutes to think it over instead of jumping into the deception plan head first. I would have encouraged you to grab the opportunity with both hands"

"She's right, though she is a hypocrite; Little miss decline-the-job-of-a-lifetime-without-thinking-first." Kira coughed.

"Shut it. No one asked you, blondie." to which he looked hurt.

He looked to Renji. "Dude, how do you deal with her being so mean..."

Renji shrugged. "You get used to it. Eventually, it's like a tiny puppy yapping at you. All bark no bite."

"Don't make me come down there-"

"See, point proven" he smirked.

"Kimi..." Rukia said interrupting the boy's banter. "I never meant to hurt anyone, I swear to you-"

"It's fine. I understand why you did it. If I'd have had the promise of information dangled in front of my face I'd have acted irrationally to... I mean... I also acted irrationally on a decision that I should have taken time with... Were in the same boat Rukia. I just hope it was worth it"

She nodded. "I found out who I am, but they made me join a squad and awaken my Zanpakuto first... That took a few weeks and that's how I ended up with Kaien." She said pointing to the sword at her waist. It didn't look much different from our Asauchi's beside the square guard below the handle.

"Tsk, stupid nobles playing with people's lives. So, who are you exactly?" I asked the curiosity getting the better of me.

"Rukia Kuchiki, the younger sister of Hisana Kuchiki, the late wife of Lord Byakuya Kuchiki... The captain who broke your wrist..."

"Your sister is married to the head of the Kuchiki clan?!" I yelped in surprise.

"LATE wife." Kira pointed out.

"She died a few years ago. Her dying wish was for the family to find the sister she abandoned as an infant when our real parents died and she couldn't afford to feed one mouth, let alone two. That's how I ended up in District 78 - Inuzuri... That's how I met Renji as a child. But I was too late to meet her" she said sadly.

"Show her the picture" Momo whispered loudly nudging her in the side.

Rukia fished around inside her robe pockets and pulled out a shiny photograph. She walked over to my tree and jumped up to sit beside me. "This is my sister."

Smiling back from the shiny slip was an older version of Rukia with the same black hair in a slightly longer style and the same glowing violet eyes but unlike Rukia when I first met her, Hisana wore long luxuries robes of silk and lace in pale greens and blues that marked her as a noble. It was hard to believe that this could have been Rukia's life if they'd have stayed together.

"She's beautiful... You could have passed for twins..."

"I know. But looking at her makes me sad so I try not to." She said putting the photo back inside her robe. "It makes me wonder what kind of relationship we would have had... One like yours and Yuu's I hope."

I shook my head. "Don't compare us. You would have had something unique, not better or worse than anyone else. You should be happy you fulfilled her dying wish and pray that she's enjoying her next life."

Rukia smiled dully. "Thank you Kimi, I'm sure she is."

"There's one thing I don't understand though, how did the Kuchiki's find you?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Momo called up "The festival of course! Our names and faces were all over the scoreboards and TV screens and we were the centre of attention on stage"

"Not to mention the papers the next morning with every scrap of information about you that they could find," Kira added.

"Of course... That makes sense..."

"The morning after the party I was summoned to a conference room while you were all in bed with your hangovers and I found a bunch of the Kuchiki family waiting to get a better look at me... I felt like I was up for sale or something" she shuddered. "They didn't show me the photo, just explained why they wanted to adopt me and pushed me into making a quick decision so I went for it without thinking. If I could turn back time I would have done everything differently, I swear it!"

"Relax, I can see that you mean it. I understand your struggle and... I forgive you."

The others yelped in surprise. "What's this? Stubborn Kimi forgiving someone so easily after months of chasing her down... I must be dreaming..." Renji said slapping himself lightly on the cheeks.

"Shut up, it's not that hard to believe. Can I get down now? My arms are not supposed to stretch this far"

Rukia pulled out her Zanpakuto and I tensed as she sliced the ropes clean down the middle and cut the ties around my wrists. I wiggled and stretched gratefully. "Thanks."

Suddenly their words from back when we were in school came back to me.

"You don't have to be her friend, just hear her out."

"Hey... I'm sorry for being so stubborn, I should have given you a chance to explain..."

"Apology excepted. We were both in the wrong," she agreed. Then without warning, she threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

"I've missed you so much! You were right that the Kuchiki's wouldn't care as much as you guys... It's been hard but I promise nothing like that will ever happen again, I swear on my life!" she said loud enough for only me to hear.

I patted her on the back gently until she pulled away but didn't hug her back. I wasn't comfortable enough to do that right away. It would take a lot more for me to trust her again.

"That is music to my ears!" Came Kaien's sing-song voice from the courtyard entrance making me jump. "See, that wasn't so hard after all!"

I pulled an acorn from a low hanging branch within my reach and flicked my wrist causing it to hit him on the forehead and the others laughed. "Do you mind? We were trying to have a serious conversation!"

He glared at me with a big red lump rising above his eyebrow then moved on. "I brought breakfast but Murasaki forfeited hers so there's an extra pastry and an extra raspberry juice!"

"Mine!" Renji claimed accepting it and I flashed down there before the straw could touch his lips to snatch it back.

"Nope! Get your germs away from my fruity goodness pineapple head!" I said taking a long swig of the juice.

"You remembered my favourite drink after all this time, thanks Kaien!"

"I figured you might need a pick me up" he shrugged.

"Where's Hatsu anyways?" I asked peering around hopefully.

"He's travelling to the mountains to build a hermit bunker until you've returned to school, apparently. I think you scared him."

I almost snorted my drink up my nose. "Is that what he said? I can't imagine why anyone would be so terrified of me"

"You're evil incarnate, that's why" Renji muttered so I stomped on his foot.

"Good to see you're back to your normal Tsundere self already, Kimi." Kira smiled and I blushed.

"Shut up, I'm just hungry!" I pouted.

* * *

A/N: Hi again! Sorry its been a while, recently started my new job as an IT Technician which involves a lot of travelling so I'm struggling for time even more than before. Hope you don't mind a little bit of fillery fun. More coming soon when I can find time to lengthen the next chapter. Currently, it only has like 4.5k words which feels way too short T.T  
Thanks for sticking around, feel free to leave a review with your thoughts, speculations and suggestions!


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